


and I'd give up forever

by SailorChibi



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste Needs a Hug, Aged up characters, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Big Reveal, Codependency, Deep bonds, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Full Reveal, Guilt, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Love Declarations, Marinette Dupain-Cheng has anxiety, Marinette Dupain-Cheng needs a hug, Miraculous Holder Alya Césaire, Miraculous Holder Chloé Bourgeois, Miraculous Holder Nino Lahiffe, Original Akuma, Original Akumatized Characters, Platonic sharing of a bed, Poor Adrien, Power of Friendship, Pretend marriage, Protect Adrien Agreste, Protective Adrien Agreste, Protective Chat Noir, Protective Ladybug, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Reveal, Secret Identity, akuma to suit my plot, but nothing too traumatic or horrible, but to the world as well, but we're aiming for a happy ending, contains season 2 spoilers, hand holding, injuries, lack of personal boundaries, lucky charm can't fix everything, minimal romance, more angst than fluff at first, negative thinking, not just to each other, partners, protect marinette dupain-cheng, seriously gabriel is just the worst, these two are literally made for each other tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-07-12 09:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15992813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Marinette and Adrien were hiding out in a motel room. Paris knew they were Ladybug and Chat Noir and hated them, and they in turn knew that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. This is one situation that they can't fix alone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been devouring MLB fic lately, and came across some where Gabriel was found out. Marinette usually takes Adrien back to her house; I thought it'd be interesting to have a scenario where she couldn't do that, but I needed a reason. Thus, my first MLB multi-chapter fic was born!

She could still taste blood, and she was cold. Marinette shivered, feeling detached as they walked across the floor of the motel. It was rundown, but it was cheap and enclosed and warm. That was all they cared about right now. She moved up to the desk and looked the clerk in the face. He looked back at her without a hint of recognition, expression bored, like she was barely a blip in his day. Good.

“One room, please,” she whispered. Adrien hovered close behind her, head lowered beneath his hat, gripping her hand with one hand and their bags with the other.

“Name?”

“Marchal,” Adrien said over her shoulder. 

The clerk’s eyes dropped to the ring on Marinette’s finger. Once, she would’ve had to fight back a blush at his knowing smirk. Now, she kept her blank expression without effort as he typed something into his computer. This is what they wanted. Another young couple, run away to elope together in the city of love. Nothing strange to see here. Nothing memorable. Nothing to report to anyone who called.

She paid with cash, took the room key and shuffled away. Adrien led the way down the hall to the room. His hand shook as he unlocked the door. She could see blood staining his fingers; his arm was bleeding again. The damp chill on her back told her that the same thing was happening on her shoulder, and she hoped that the clerk hadn’t looked at them again as they walked away. There was a good chance her coat was soaked through with blood by now.

Adrien stepped in, ushered her in with a careful hand to her lower back, and shut the door. He locked it and dropped their bags on the floor, setting the bag with their kwamis in it down with more care. Then he looked at her. That same blank expression that had covered his face since… 

Well, since.

“You shower first,” Adrien said into the silence. He held her earrings out. She slipped his ring off her finger and they switched. Marinette absently put her earrings back in as she walked into the tiny bathroom. Tikki didn’t follow her; she hoped that Adrien was feeding them. 

Marinette stripped off the coat she’d worn over her dirty, bloody clothing, then took those off too. She dumped them on the floor: they were fit for burning, and even if they were clean she wouldn’t wear it again. When she was naked, and smiling bitterly over the fact that she didn’t even have the energy to freak out over being naked with Adrien Agreste in the next room, she turned on the shower and got in. The water was cold and warmed slowly, stinging her shoulder and making her shiver. 

She wanted to wash, but didn’t. Couldn’t. On top of everything else, the weight of the water was too much and she sank slowly to the floor. Perhaps not slowly enough, though. She knocked the bottles of shampoo off the ledge and they hit the ground with a clatter. 

Not seconds later, Adrien was in the room and pulling back the shower curtain. He’d undressed too, and was clad only in boxers. He didn’t even hesitate, clambering right into the shower with her and kneeling down. His arms came around her, so hard that her already bruised ribs ached, and she clung back to him just as hard, pressing her face into his collarbone. He, in turn, buried his face in her wet hair. She couldn’t tell if he was crying like she was, but she thought so.

Paris knew they were Ladybug and Chat Noir and hated them, and they in turn knew that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. What wasn’t there to cry about?

**Six hours earlier**

Ladybug was exhausted. She slumped down on the rooftop and felt her transformation come undone. Tikki collapsed into her hands with a faint moan. Worried, Marinette found the strength to sit up and fumble in her purse. She only had a couple of cookies left and no idea how many Lucky Charm’s were going to need to be cast in the near future. Chat Noir was probably having the same problem.

“Eat up, Tikki,” she whispered, wiping her forehead.

“Thanks Marinette,” Tikki said faintly, nibbling at the cookies. It was concerning to see Tikki so exhausted that she could barely eat, but Marinette wasn’t sure what else to do.

She dared to sit up a little and look out over the city. The lights looked beautiful, but a sight that she usually enjoyed just left her more drained tonight. Somewhere out there was an akuma running around with Hawkmoth – literally. This was the first time she and Chat Noir had ever encountered Hawkmoth in battle, and they were not faring well. Hawkmoth was strong, and this akuma was one of the most powerful they’d ever faced, and it was all combining to be a hell of a battle.

“We have to cleanse the akuma,” she said out loud. The akuma, Misfortune, had once been a fan of Ladybug and Chat Noir. But something had happened – Marinette didn’t know what – that had turned Misfortune’s affection to hatred. Hawkmoth had seized his opportunity. Now there was an akuma whose sole purpose in existence was to make people _hate_ Chat Noir and Ladybug.

She ducked down again, running her hands over her arms and wincing. Some people hated with angry looks or words. Others resorted to violence. Marinette had a lot of scratches from nails and untold bruises from fists and feet littering her body. She could feel a particularly nasty one on the right side of her torso every time she breathed out. She suspected Chat Noir was in the same boat; the suits could only do so much to protect them, especially when the kwamis were pushed to their limits.

If they could cleanse the akuma, then they wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by the people of Paris. That would be a big help and then they could focus exclusively on Hawkmoth. The problem was that every time Ladybug got close to the akuma, Hawkmoth appeared. Even with Chat Noir at her side, she couldn’t fight them both at the same time – especially not with normal people attacking them too.

This would be easier if people were zombies. But they weren’t. Literally the only thing Misfortune did was change their feelings. So you could lock them up, but other people would set them free. You could hide out on a rooftop to get your bearings, but people would climb the stairs. You could swing over the city, but people would take pictures and post your location and be waiting for you the second you touched down. You could try to grab a few minutes to feed your kwami –

“Over here! You two! Bring that up here! We’ll ram down the door!”

“Oh no,” Marinette whispered, scrambling to her feet. Tikki hurriedly chowed down the last few bites of cookie. Both of them knew that they weren’t safe up here. Marinette had already watched two boys with blond hair and a similar height and weight to Chat Noir be attacked tonight. The akuma’s influence was driving people into a crazed frenzy.

“You have to act fast, Marinette,” Tikki said.

“I will. Tikki, spots on!”

As the red lights died away, Ladybug spun on her heel and threw herself off the roof. She heard many gasps and yells below her, but they weren’t of encouragement. Her heart ached at the jeers and insults. Even though she knew it was because of an akuma, they still hurt. She tried her best not to pick out individual voices.

“My Lady!”

“Chat!” Ladybug turned her head, relieved to see her partner matching her stride for stride. He looked as tired as she felt. They had to end this now, before neither of them could go on.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I think her akuma is in her necklace,” Chat Noir said. In union, they took to the next rooftop.

“That makes sense. The problem is we can’t get close enough without Hawkmoth attacking,” Ladybug said. Hawkmoth wasn’t tired like they were. He was letting the akuma and her influence do a lot of the work for him. She went to leap over the next rooftop and heard a sound like a firecracker. 

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir yelped. His arms closed around her and wrenched her sharply to the side, so that they both went rolling over the roof until they came to a heap in the middle. Ladybug stared down at him in silent shock.

The police were _shooting_ at them.

“Oh god,” she whispered, grabbing for Chat Noir’s arm. Her fingers came away a shade of red that had nothing to do with her suit.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

“Chat –”

“It’s fine. I promise.” He gently gripped her hand and pulled it away. “Just a graze. We have to focus.”

Ladybug bit her lip, then reluctantly nodded. He was right. “Okay. I’m going to go for Misfortune. You hang back. If Hawkmoth comes – can you distract him?”

They’d tried this tactic before and failed, but Chat Noir nodded. “I will.”

“Let’s do it,” Ladybug whispered, pushing herself up. She took his hand and helped him up too. They stood there for a moment, just holding hands, staring at each other. Ladybug wondered if his heart was pounding as hard as hers was. If he was scared as she was, because for the first time this was a situation she didn’t know how to resolve.

“Good luck,” Chat Noir said softly, squeezing her hand. Then he let go. Ladybug immediately felt cold, but she tried to ignore it.

“ _Lucky Charm_!” she shouted, throwing her yoyo in the air. It burst into red sparkles and an object dropped into her hands. Ladybug stared at it, puzzled. It was a compact mirror. What on earth was she supposed to do with this? She looked at Chat Noir, hoping for inspiration, but he shrugged at her.

Well, she’d figure it out. She always did. Ladybug pulled out her phone and checked the Ladyblog. Alya had been affected by the akuma too, so the blog was covered in information about their whereabouts. But it also had some data on Misfortune. Right now, it seemed the akuma was at the Eiffel Tower. She supposed that made sense. It was a central place in Paris, and Misfortune would have plenty of places to run.

Not this time.

She threw her yoyo and rapidly swung towards the Tower, dodging the news helicopters. Chat Noir matched her pace. Ladybug got there a second faster, hitting the ground and running flat-out. She could just see Misfortune: the akuma’s red cat ears stood out against its black gown. As she drew closer, she made out the storm clouds brewing above Misfortune. That was how the akuma spread its power: by creating clouds that would rain on people. Those clouds had already swamped Paris half a dozen times.

“Duck!” Chat Noir yelled somewhere behind her; she obeyed and heard the unmistakable sound of metal clashing against metal. Ladybug risked a glance over her shoulder and realized that Chat Noir was engaged in combat with Hawkmoth.

The akuma leapt forward, distracting her. Ladybug barely got out of the way. Misfortune seemed to be gifted with fighting prowess and speed in addition to her storm clouds. It was an effort to stay a step ahead of her – or maybe that was just Ladybug’s flagging speed, her stamina finally giving out after literally hours of fighting already with little chance for reprieve.

“There they are!” someone shouted.

Ladybug landed and nearly tripped onto her face when something struck her leg and exploded. It was a bottle of soda pop, she realized. Someone had thrown it at her. She swung around to face the approaching mob. Their words blended together, but they were all throwing things. Garbage, more bottles, briefcases, cell phones, shoes – most of it missed, but some of it was hitting their targets.

Chat Noir yowled. “Cataclysm!” He lunged at Hawkmoth. But Hawkmoth jumped back, then did something Ladybug couldn’t see. A nearby streetlight went up into ashes, then Chat Noir hit the ground. 

“Chat!” Ladybug screamed. She couldn’t see if he was breathing. Oh god, he had to be breathing. Her miraculous beeped in her ear. Was that two beeps or three?

Forgetting the akuma, she swung around to face Hawkmoth. He laughed at her. His sword gleamed, thankfully free of blood. Then, suddenly, he leapt at her. Ladybug jumped backwards, narrowly missing the tip of his sword. But she’d forgotten the mob; she stumbled on a piece of glass that someone had thrown and went down hard on one knee. Hawkmoth darted forward, sword raised high. Ladybug threw up a hand and twisted away as best she could.

The pain caught her by surprise, a shocked gasp escaping. The sword bit deeply into the meat of her shoulder, slicing easily through the fabric of her suit. It was wrenched free in the next breath, leaving her feeling dizzy and sick with the flush of adrenaline. In the distance, she heard screams of joy and what sounded like applause. Her stomach wrenched and she gagged, tasting bile.

“Pathetic,” Hawkmoth said. “You don’t deserve to have your Miraculous. Give it to me.”

“Fuck you,” Ladybug gasped. It hurt so much. There was another beep.

Then, suddenly, her transformation dissolved in another flash of red light. Marinette barely got her bloody hand up to catch Tikki. There was a moment of silence. Behind his mask, she thought that Hawkmoth looked surprised.

“Marinette?”

That was Alya’s voice. Marinette turned without thinking to see her best friend at the head of the pack. 

“Oh my god,” Alya said. Her face filled with disgust. “You’re Ladybug?! I can’t believe we were ever friends! Lame-ass Marinette is Ladybug… Chloé was right all along about you!”

“Alya,” Marinette whispered. Tears stung her eyes. She’d never seen such a look of hatred on Alya’s face. Her eyes swept the mob, picking out other faces. Her teachers, her classmates, Nino. Her parents. All with the same identical expression. This time, the desire to throw up had nothing to do with the pain.

Chat Noir appeared out of nowhere. He really did. One moment Hawkmoth was looming over her and the next Chat Noir had slung him to the ground and climbed on top of him, pinning their enemy to the ground. Marinette could see the instant Chat Noir got his claws on Hawkmoth’s miraculous. Hawkmoth lit up with purple light; the mask over his face began to disappear, revealing familiar features. A strong jaw, a thin nose, cold blue eyes…

“What?” Chat Noir jerked back. Hawkmoth slapped at his hand and Chat Noir lost his grip on the miraculous. Hawkmoth’s detransformation immediately reversed. He grappled for his sword.

“Chat!” Marinette screamed.

Her voice jolted Chat Noir into action. He jumped away from Hawkmoth, just missing the flash of the sword. As he landed, Marinette heard a familiar beeping. Her heart sank through the ground as Chat Noir detransformed in a flash of green light. A black kwami fell into his hands.

“Adrien?” she whispered, stunned.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no.


	2. Chapter 2

Father and son stared at each other. If pressed, Marinette would’ve found it hard to say who was more shocked. For several long seconds, no one moved. Marinette didn’t even dare breathe.

Then thunder rumbled overhead, and it was like that broke the spell. “Kill Ladybug!” someone yelled behind her, and another glass bottle shattered inches from Marinette’s left foot.

Adrien moved, turning his back on Hawkmoth and darting to Marinette’s side. His hands were damp with sweat and blood as he grabbed for her arms, pulling her to her feet. She bit her lip to hold back her cry of pain and scrambled up, leaning heavily against him. Hand-in-hand, they ran together. Their kwamis flew over their heads, glancing back occasionally.

“Hawkmoth isn’t following, but the mob is,” the black kwami reported, flying down around Marinette’s face. He had green eyes, just like Adrien.

“This way,” Adrien said into Marinette’s ear. They slid into an alley and he wrenched her down behind a dumpster. It smelled vile, but the alternative was worse. Marinette pressed her face into his blood-soaked shirt, holding onto him for dear life. Adrien’s arms wrapped around her and she couldn’t tell where her trembling stopped and his began. And she couldn’t tell for sure, but she thought that their kwamis, now enclosed between their bodies, might have been shaking too.

Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste. Dear god. Even if Marinette hadn’t recognized him, no one else could possibly affect Adrien that badly. Her mind whirled, trying to make sense of everything. But so much had happened and everything hurt and Adrien was Chat Noir and – and she was completely overwhelmed, and it felt like her brain was running in circles. It was too much.

Gradually, silence fell. The footsteps running past the alley stopped. The voices yelling for Ladybug and Chat Noir died away. All Marinette could hear was the sound of their panicked breathing until Tikki spoke.

“Marinette?”

“Tikki,” Marinette said, realizing they were squishing their kwamis. She pulled back just a little. Big blue eyes and glowing green eyes peered up at her.

“We need to get somewhere safe,” the black kwami said. “You two need to recuperate and Tikki and I need food.”

“But where can we go? I can’t go home…” Marinette trailed off, the realization hitting her like a bat to the head. She couldn’t go home. Not while her parents were under Misfortune’s control. Tom and Sabine hated Ladybug, just like everyone else. Now they knew Marinette was Ladybug. Hence, they hated Marinette.

She must’ve made some kind of sound, because Adrien’s head snapped around. He cupped her face. “Mari, I know,” he said in a low voice. “But we’ve – we’ve got to – to keep it together. Until we’re somewhere safe. I need you.” His voice was filled with desperation.

“I’m with you,” she whispered, blinking her eyes against the tears. Her lower lip trembled. “ _Chaton_ , what are we going to _do_?”

Adrien exhaled shakily. He was staring into her eyes, but his gaze was distant like he was thinking hard. “We can’t go back to my place either. It’s too dangerous. H-Hawkmoth might be there.” His voice broke, but he recovered quickly. “We’ll go to a hotel. Somewhere no one will recognize us.”

“How will we pay for it?” Marinette said.

“I have money,” Adrien said. “I have – I have money.”

He didn’t sound sure, but they didn’t have any other answer right now. “Okay. A motel,” she said, because that would be cheaper than a hotel. “We can make it there. Right?”

“Right,” he said. He was still cupping her face. Marinette should’ve been on cloud nine, but all she wanted to do was cry. Adrien was Chat Noir. Her beloved partner. This was not how she’d wanted to find out.

“You’ll need cover,” Tikki said. “They’ll recognize you.”

She was right. “We’ll stop at my place,” Marinette said. “My parents were part of that – of the mob. They won’t be home.” It was her voice’s turn to crack. She swallowed hard. “We’ll have to go fast. They’ll know.”

“Okay,” Adrien said. “Come on.”

Somehow, they stood without ever letting go of each other. Marinette’s head spun when she was standing. Her shoulder hurt so badly. She’d never been stabbed before. She hadn’t know it would hurt like this. Every breath seemed to make it worse. And there wouldn’t be any magic to heal it anytime soon. There was no way they were going after the akuma right now.

“We can do this,” she said, and she didn’t know who she was talking to, but Adrien took a step and Marinette matched his pace.

Together, they slowly made their way three streets over. The bakery was dark and locked up. Marinette tried to suggest that Adrien stay outside, but he looked at her like she was speaking a language he didn’t know. His grip on her hand never once lessened, and after a few seconds she gave up. Truthfully, the thought of letting him go made the hair on the back of her neck rise. If her partner left, she would have _nothing_.

She unlocked the door of the bakery and they slipped inside. As her eyes swept over the familiar shelves, the urge to cry surged forward again. Marinette gritted her teeth and blinked tears away, moving forward. Adrien fell in close behind her, almost stepping on her heels, as she picked up the largest pastry box they had and began to fill it with croissants for them and cookies for Tikki.

Adrien took the box when it was full. “Plagg likes cheese.”

“We have some upstairs. Come on,” she whispered back, leading him up the stairs. She took all the cheese from the refrigerator and put it into a plastic bag, which again Adrien took from her. 

“Do you have a first aid kit? Your shoulder…”

“In my room,” Marinette said, trying to think. There were things they needed, but her brain wasn’t functioning. She stumbled on the stairs and was only saved by Adrien. Her chaton. What would she do without him?

They hadn’t turned any of the lights on, but the moonlight filtering through the windows made the pictures on Marinette’s walls stand out. Adrien looked at them in silence. Marinette could feel her face getting hot. She hadn’t even thought about those pictures. But then, it wasn’t like she had time to do anything about it. It wasn’t like she could ask him to wait downstairs while she performed a frantic clean-up.

“Marinette,” Tikki said, patting her cheek. “We need to hurry.”

“Right. Clothes. And my kit…” Marinette turned to her desk and took the first aid kit. Adrien came with her as she rummaged through her closet. She had a couple sets of clothing designed with him in mind, which she knew would fit. She also took a couple changes of clothing for herself. All of it went into her backpack, which she slung across her unhurt shoulder. Tikki and Plagg disappeared into it, making a nest out of a shirt. Then Adrien zipped it up. He rested his forehead against her bicep.

“Anything else?” he whispered.

Marinette looked down at his head. “Oh, _mon minou_ ,” she breathed. Her heart was breaking for him, and she wanted nothing more than to hug him and give him comfort. But now wasn’t the time. She said, “I need a coat. To hide my shoulder. And a hat for you, to hide your hair.”

He nodded. “Then we’ll go.”

“Then we’ll go,” Marinette confirmed. She found what they needed without too much trouble, shrugging the coat on as carefully as she could when her shoulder was _throbbing_. Adrien took a coat too, plus a hat. He crushed the hat down on his head so that it hid his eyes. As a last thought, Marinette pulled the ties from her pigtails and finger combed her hair out. Wearing Ladybug’s distinctive hairstyle right now was not a good idea.

The streets outside were eerily quiet when they emerged from the bakery, like the calm before a storm. Adrien released her hand and slid an arm around her waist instead. They set a fast pace, walking quickly with their heads down. But both of them were on edge. Being outside in public right now felt dangerous, like someone was going to point to them at any second and denounce them.

“Let’s take the train,” Adrien said quietly, guiding her gently towards the nearest set of steps. Marinette blindly followed, eager to be somewhere safer and less public.

Even though it was late, there were still people around. Fortunately, no one gave the two of them a second look as they purchased their tickets. Marinette tried not to listen; she didn’t want to hear what they were saying about Ladybug and Chat Noir. When the train finally pulled up, they crept inside and found seats at the end of the car. Adrien sat so close to her that Marinette was practically in his lap. His breath ruffled her hair every time he exhaled, sending a pleasant chill down her spine. It was too bad that she’d never been less inclined to enjoy it.

They rode the train to the end of the line. And when it stopped, it was an area Marinette wasn’t familiar with. But there was a motel just down the street, and there was no one else around, and they were both so exhausted that the thought of trying to get anywhere else seemed insurmountable. Marinette’s legs were actually shaking with fatigue by that point.

“If you give me the money, I’ll get the room,” she said. “You’re more recognizeable.”

Adrien nodded, but he seemed distracted. “You should give me your earrings.”

“What? Why?” She touched her earrings instinctively. When she wasn’t transformed, they looked like simple grey studs. She glanced at his ring and saw that it was just a silver ring.

“I – it feels safer. You can have my ring. They’ll think we’re married that way.” He saw her eyes go wide and hastily added, “Everyone is looking for two single kids. No one will think to look for a young married couple.”

He had a point, but Marinette still felt that slow, creeping flush of embarrassment. Married. To Adrien. Had it only been last week that, lost in daydreams, she’d written the name Marinette Agreste all over her math homework? Then she’d had to pretend that she hadn’t done it because she was too embarrassed to hand it in, and Alya had teased her mercilessly.

Alya. Just the thought of her friend was sobering. Marinette swallowed dryly and reached up to remove her earrings. Adrien slid his ring off. They swapped. Marinette’s ears felt empty. Her hand shook as she slipped his ring onto her finger. It was loose at first, nearly sliding off, but then – it shrank. She looked down at it with fascination, because it fit her ring finger perfectly now. In retrospect, she supposed it made sense. Earrings were a one size fits all, but rings were versatile. It was unlikely that all the Chat Noirs through time had had the same size fingers.

“Not how I thought I’d give you a ring,” Adrien whispered, looking at her hand.

Her throat got tight. He’d wanted – she thought of all the times she’d dismissed Chat Noir’s flirting as just for kicks and had to pinch herself to keep from crying. Wordlessly, she held her hand out to him. He took it and they hurried across the street into the hotel.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of the television woke Marinette from what had been a restless sleep. She blinked her eyes open and found herself staring at Tikki and Plagg, both of whom were curled up sound asleep less than two inches away from her face. For a split second, she was confused by the sight of them together. And then the memories of the day before rushed over her, and she closed her eyes again. Apparently, it hadn’t been a terrible nightmare after all and she wasn’t going to wake up in her room at the bakery.

“Princess, you should look at this.”

Adrien. Adrien was Chat Noir. That was going to take some getting used to, though it wasn’t like she had the luxury of time right now. Marinette carefully rolled over and found that Adrien was sitting up, watching the TV. Her head came to rest on his thigh. She might have had an internal freak-out about that fact, but for the video footage playing out across the TV. At the sight of Ladybug and Hawkmoth, all else ceased to matter. 

“Oh my god,” she breathed, staring in horror as Hawkmoth stabbed Ladybug. She could remember exactly how much that had hurt, but she wasn’t prepared for how gruesome it looked to see the sword pierce through the costume and into her skin. Ladybug’s transformation came apart, revealing Marinette looking cold, dirty and afraid. Then Chat Noir intervened. That part played out pretty much as Marinette remembered. The footage continued until Marinette and Adrien ran out of the frame hand-in-hand. 

When the video ended, the news reporter came back on screen. Adrien muted the television and dropped the remote. Marinette could only imagine the kind of things they were saying. She had to take a couple of deep breaths against the urge to break down crying. She had to hold it together. Paris needed Ladybug and Chat Noir more than ever now, and they had to figure out a plan.

“Do you think,” Adrien began hesitantly, “that the cleansing light could fix this?”

“No,” Tikki said before Marinette could speak. The kwami floated up off the pillow, hovering in front of Adrien’s face. Marinette had never seen her look so sad.

Adrien’s jaw worked, then he whispered, “Why not?”

“This wasn’t caused by an akuma. It was Hawkmoth’s work,” Tikki told him. “Once you beat the akuma, most of the damage will be reversed and no one will hate you anymore. There’s a slim chance it will make everyone forget your identities, but I think you should plan for the worse.”

“So I’ll remember that my dad is Hawkmoth, then.”

Oh. Marinette’s heart shattered into a dozen little pieces at the forlorn note in Adrien’s voice. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was going through right now. 

Tikki nodded. “Yes.”

Adrien nodded and turned away from them, his face cast into shadows. Tikki shot a concerned look at Marinette, who wasn’t sure what to say or do. How could she comfort him through this? What could she say? ‘I’m sorry your dad has enslaved a quarter of the city’? That wasn’t going to go over very well. The last thing Adrien needed was to be reminded of everything that Hawkmoth had done.

“Adrien?” Plagg said, still sitting on the pillow. He looked worried too.

“It’s fine,” Adrien said, voice distant. “We’ll get him arrested or something. I’ll be alone. Nothing new there.” It sounded like he was trying for levity, but that just made everything worse.

Marinette couldn’t stay silent. She pushed herself up. “Adrien, _Chaton_ , no,” she breathed. “You’ll never be alone. You have me and Plagg and Tikki. We’re here. We’ll _always_ be here. I’ll always be here. I’m your partner, remember?” She wrapped her arms around him from the back as best she could. Her shoulder throbbed with every movement, but she didn’t care about a little pain right now. Not when Adrien sounded so lost.

He was worringly quiet for several moments, and she could feel him shuddering. Marinette hugged him tighter, wishing that she knew what to say to make this better. 

“He’s hurt so many people,” Adrien whispered finally in a choked voice.

“I know,” Marinette said. “I know.” She pressed her forehead to his shoulder. “He’s an idiot. Whatever reason he has for doing this isn’t worth it. He doesn’t know how lucky he is to have you because – because you’re Adrien which means you’re kind and sweet and you have a good heart, and you’re Chat Noir which means you’re brave and loving and a silly kitty, and that makes you the most perfect boy in the world and I love you and you can come live with me, I have room in my bed and my parents will bake you breakfast every morning and you and Plagg will get fat but that’s okay because –”

“Marinette,” Adrien interrupted. “You’re rambling.”

Marinette blinked and flushed. “I – sorry. I do that when I’m nervous.”

“I know,” Adrien said.

Right. Of course he knew. She blushed harder, though she didn’t move away. She might have let herself fantasize about Adrien and Chat Noir being the same person a few times, but she’d never actually thought she would be that lucky. And yet here they were. All of her dreams were coming true and yet she didn’t feel happy. Actually, she felt sick to her stomach with grief and anger and fear.

Adrien’s hand covered hers, squeezing warmly. “You love me?”

“I – w-what?” Marinette sputtered. She ran over her rambling in her brain and turned a shade of red to rival her Ladybug suit. Shit, she hadn’t meant to say that. This wasn’t the time or place.

“I love you too,” Adrien said before she could freak out too much. “Thank you, Marinette.”

Did he mean that romantically or platonically? Marinette couldn’t tell, and this wasn’t the time to ask. She tried to get a grip. “I meant it. You can come live with me.”

“Thank you,” Adrien whispered again. On the pillow Plagg gave her an approving nod, so apparently she’d done something right.

“You don’t have to thank me. We’re partners,” Marinette said. “Ladybug and Chat Noir.” They were two halves of a whole, yin and yang, and by this point so engrained that she didn’t think she could live without him. 

“Right,” Adrien sighed. “What are we going to do about that?”

Marinette didn’t have an answer for him. Not really. She wanted to say she had the perfect plan, but they’d never been in a situation like this before. Never before had the stacks been set so high against Ladybug and Chat Noir. So many people were against them. People who she had turned to help for before had been part of the mob yesterday. She hugged Adrien tighter, wondering what would have happened if she or Chat Noir had been caught by the akuma’s power. She didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have Adrien here right now.

The silence stretched into minutes, with only the quiet sound of their breathing to break it up. Marinette watched the play of sunlight slowly migrate across the floor. On the television, the screen flipped to a scene of two men and a woman talking – according to the information scrolling across the bottom, they were having a debate about Ladybug and Chat Noir. Her stomach roiled at the thought that so many people out there were talking about this right now.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the faint sound of of Adrien’s heartbeat. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard it. She and Chat Noir had fallen asleep together before on patrols, usually when they were both so exhausted that they couldn’t keep going. More than once, Ladybug had woken up to find her face smushed into the chest of her black cat. She found herself wishing she’d known before now that Adrien was her sweet kitty. It didn’t seem fair that this relevation had happened because of Hawkmoth, and not because they wanted it to.

At least, she thought, there were no secrets between them now. Or almost no secrets. That made her think of something, or rather _someone_ , and for the first time in over twenty-four hours Marinette felt a tiny surge of hope.

“Tikki,” she said, “could the power of a Miraculous break an akuma’s power?”

Tikki and Plagg both seemed surprised by her question, and Adrien twisted around to look at her. She was relived to see that, although he might have been a few minutes ago, he wasn’t crying now. The sight of her silly kitty reduced to tears again would’ve been heartbreaking. As it was, she was committed to kicking Gabriel Agreste in the face for every tear Adrien had shed over this nightmare.

“It can’t. We’ve both been hit before,” Adrien said.

Marinette shook her head. “But we’ve never been hit and _then_ transformed,” she pointed out. “I thought… maybe the power could, like, shock someone into breaking free.”  
Adrien stared at her for a moment before he got it. “Rena Rouge and Carapace,” he said, and then, after squinting in thought, added tentatively, “Alya and Nino?”

“Yeah. How’d you figure it out?”

“I couldn’t think of anyone else you’d trust.” He paused. “I suppose I should be offended that you didn’t bring the turtle or fox miraculous to me instead.”

“I trust you!” Marinette exclaimed, horrified. “I mean, I trusted you even before I found you were Chat Noir, it’s just that you’re so busy and –” She stopped short, seeing the smile that was twitching across his face, and realized that he was teasing her. Annoyed, she punched his arm.

“Ow!” Adrien said, laughing. 

“You’re awful!” Marinette hissed, though she didn’t mean it. It was too good to see him laughing. 

“Don’t you mean claw-ful?”

“Oh god,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “And to think I thought you were cute.” But damn, it was good to hear him making awful puns again.

He snickered, grabbing her hand and kissing it playfully. “You still think that.”

“I do not,” Marinette lied. “And you should be grateful I didn’t bring you the turtle or fox miraculous because you would’ve had to turn me down. Actually, I would’ve loved to have seen that. Adrien Agreste turning down Ladybug’s plea for help?” Her smile was pure mischief. “Something tells me Plagg doesn’t share well.”

“I don’t,” Plagg said sharply. “This kitten’s mine. I share with you because I have to and Tikki will yell at me if I don’t, but all other kwamis have to keep their paws off.”

Marinette considered that for a few seconds before nodding. “Does it help that my papa makes the best cheese bread in France?” she asked, keeping the smile on her face even as her chest tightened. Was the bakery open today? Were her parents worried about her? Or were they continuing their lives as normal, grateful for the fact that their daughter wasn’t around?

Plagg brightened. “You’re the best Ladybug ever and you have permission to marry my kitten.”

“Okay, not that I mind you giving away my hand in marriage or anything,” Adrien cut in, which was probably a good thing because Marinette was silently dying at the idea of marrying Adrien Agreste, “but Tikki, do you think that has a chance of working?”

“It could,” Tikki said slowly, her blue eyes thoughtful. She settled on Marinette’s shoulder. “It’s worth a try. But I don’t think they’ll take anything from Ladybug or Chat Noir so long as they’re under the akuma’s influence.”

“No, but we could call Master Fu. Maybe he hasn’t been affected,” Marinette said. “And if he has, we could try to steal them and leave them in a place where Alya and Nino will find them.” 

“You would steal from Master Fu?” Plagg looked pretty impressed. “I like you even more now.”

“That’s a worst case scenario,” Marinette told him, eyeing the kwami. It was probably a good thing that Plagg had ended up with someone as warm-hearted and pure as Adrien. She could only imagine the terror that would’ve been wrought had someone like Chloé gotten the ring.

Oh god. Partners with Chloé. Being linked to Chloé forever. Marinette struggled to contain her horror. Judging from the smirk on Adrien’s face, she wasn’t being successful. She made a face back at him and watched as he grabbed her phone from the beside table, handing it to her.

“Should we call him, then?” he asked, looking at Marinette.

“We can’t do this alone,” she said. “Yeah, let’s call.”


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette’s heart pounded as she dialed Fu’s number. If it turned out that he hated them and hung up on her, she didn’t know what they would do. Trying to steal a miraculous from a guardian just sounded like a hideous idea, but they were pretty pressed for options at this point. Before they could even think about doing anything about Hawkmoth, they needed to deal with that akuma.

“Hello?” Fu said, and without thinking she grabbed Adrien’s hand. He leaned into her, putting his head on her shoulder so that he could listen too.

“Master Fu?” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “It’s Marinette.”

There was a beat of silence, during which Marinette’s heart sank straight through the floor and she started to think the worst, and then Fu sighed. “Marinette. Thank goodness. I’ve been wondering how you were doing. Is Chat Noir with you?”

He didn’t hate them. Marinette mouthed ‘it’s okay’ at Adrien, even though she was sure he’d heard every word. “Yes, he’s here. Actually, we – we know each other’s identities now.”

“Good, good,” Fu said distractedly. “And are you safe?”

“For now we are. But Master, the reason why I’m calling… we need help. We can’t do this alone, and we were wondering if the power of a miraculous could break an akuma’s hold over someone.”

Fu hummed. “It is good to hear that you understand that,” he said. “I can’t say that it’s been done before that I recall, but there is a good chance chance that would work. The butterfly miraculous is on a similar level power-wise to the fox and the turtle. You would like me to deliver the fox and turtle miraculouses to Rena Rouge and Carapace, I presume.”

Marinette could’ve cried with relief. “Yes please. They won’t take them from me or Adrien, but they don’t know you. If I tell you who they were, could you? Then you could tell them where we are, and they could come here and we could figure out some kind of plan.”

“I can do that, so long as you understand there is a chance that the miraculous won’t break Misfortune’s hold,” he cautioned her. “And if that were the case, you would have Rena Rouge and Carapace hunting you in addition to the rest of Paris and Hawkmoth.”

Adrien tipped his head up so that he could speak. “We know that’s a risk, but we both think is our best shot.”

“Very well. Who am I looking for?”

“Alya Césaire and Nino Lafitte,” Marinette said. She rattled off their home addresses, then added, “It’s Thursday, so they might be at school.” She paused then, thinking about her school. How she longed to be in class with Adrien in front of her, Nino at his side and Alya at hers. She wouldn’t even mind sitting through a Physics class right now. 

“And where are you?”

She gave him the address of their motel, as well as the room number. It was hard to hang up. Harder than she’d expected. But Fu was the only person she knew right now who didn’t hate them. That was a sobering though. Her thoughts must’ve been reflected in her face, because Adrien pulled her into a tight hug as soon as she ended the call. Marinette clung to him, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. 

How long would it take Fu to get to Alya and Nino? Would they come today? Tomorrow? How long could she and Adrien hide out here? They’d run out of food eventually. It would be dangerous for either one of them to go get more. There was no telling who might recognize them. And what happened if Fu fell under the akuma’s power before he could deliver the miraculous? How long should they wait before they decided that no one was coming to help them and tried to figure out plan B?

“Marinette, don’t borrow trouble,” Tikki whispered, patting Marinette’s hand. “Both of you should get up and get dressed and have something to eat.”

Right. Food. That was a thing they both needed. Marinette didn’t want to let go, but she knew that Tikki was right. Hawkmoth and Misfortune seemed to have gone to ground for the time being, but there was no telling how long their reprieve would last for. If the akuma started causing trouble, then Ladybug and Chat Noir would _have_ to show up. They couldn’t leave Paris undefended.

She reluctantly released Adrien, turning to sling her feet over the side of the bed. It was cold in the room, and she belatedly realized she was wearing a tank top and a bra and not much else. Before she could decide whether or not that was worth freaking out over, Adrien’s hand came to rest on her wounded shoulder. He touched the bandages lightly, an unspoken question.

“It feels better but it still hurts,” Marinette said.

“I’ll check it after we eat,” Adrien replied. “I don’t suppose you’ve got some clothes for me.”

“I do, actually.” She stood and walked over to where their bags had been carelessly thrown last night. She found the clothes she’d packed and pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants for Adrien.

“Thanks Marinette,” he said, looking surprised, and she flushed.

“I needed to practice making men’s clothing to fit, and I knew your measurements from a magazine,” she lied, looking away. Actually, she’d designed these with Adrien in mind. She’d spent enough time oogling his photographs to know that he preferred looser clothing as opposed to the tight stuff he wore when modelling, so the green button-up shirt and black pants had some leeway. Of course, after making them she’d never been able to drum up the courage to ask him to try them on, but now she was grateful that she had.

She turned away to let him dress, pulling a pair of jeans and a blue shirt out for herself. She dressed quickly, sliding into the jeans and putting a bra on before her shirt. It was a little embarrassing to be essentially naked around her crush, but this was also Chat Noir. How many times had they accidentally detransformed around each other only for him to close his eyes, even though he desperately wanted to know her identity? If he could contain himself then, he could easily do it now. 

“These fit perfectly,” Adrien said, and Marinette turned to eye him critically. In her opinion the shoulders weren’t perfect, but she supposed it would do. It wasn’t like she had access to her materials to fix it now.

“It’s okay,” she said, pulling out the box of pastries. Tikki immediately flew over to her, looking eager. Marinette smiled and opened the box, picking out a cookie. She handed it to Tikki and then took a croissant for herself, even though she wasn’t all that hungry. They needed to eat, if only to keep up their strength.

Adrien fetched some cheese for Plagg and then picked up a croissant. They ate in somber silence. Normally the buttery croissants were one of Marinette’s favorite treats, but today they didn’t taste right. All she could think about was helping her father to bake them. Would she ever get a chance to do that again? Could she do it again, knowing what his face looked like when he hated her?

When they were finished, Adrien carefully unwound the bandages from her shoulder. He’d put butterfly tape on last night to hold the wound shut. If it weren’t for the slightly accelerated healing, Marinette was positive she would’ve needed stitches. She sat still while he rubbed more ointment on and then wrapped it again, his fingers tender as they moved against her skin.

“Maybe you should transform,” Tikki said. “You’re both wounded. You’ll heal faster.”

“Shouldn’t you conserve energy?” Marinette asked, worried.

“I don’t think Hawkmoth will pop up right away. You gave him a rough time of it last night,” Tikki told her. “He’ll need time to come up with a plan, and time for Nooroo to recuperate. You can transform for a couple of hours, then detransform and let Plagg and me eat and rest. Besides, you can’t fight him if you’re hurt. You’re much better with your right hand than you are with your left.”

Marinette made a face, but Tikki was right. Even with all of Ladybug’s grace, she was clumsy when it came to manipulating her yoyo with her left hand. “Alright, fine. Tikki, spots on!”

“Plagg, claws out!”

“My cheeeeeeeese~” Plagg wailed as he was sucked into the ring. A tiny piece of camembert fell to the ground as green and pink lights swirled through the room. Ladybug bent and picked it up, tossing it into the bag with the remainder of the cheese. 

Then she turned and looked at her partner. It was the first time she’d seen Chat Noir since they’d found out the truth and she had to wonder how he felt, knowing that he’d been fighting against his father all this time. Judging from how big and kitten-like his green eyes were, the answer was absolutely horrible. There was a freedom within their costumes that they didn’t possess outside of it yet, and, rather than plaster herself to his back this time, Ladybug opened her arms.

“Come here, _mon minou_ ,” she whispered, beckoning to him, and his face crumbled.

She sat upon the bed again, her back to the wall, and let him curl up against her. He buried his face against her good shoulder, shaking from head to toe, while she ran her fingers through his hair and scratched gently at his scalp. It was the best way she knew of to comfort him; back when they first met, Ladybug had tried her best to keep contact between them at a minimum. But it hadn’t taken long for that plan to get thrown out the window. Chat Noir was very tactile, as cats were, and even Ladybug needed some cuddles once in a while when the stress of a lonely and scary job got too much.

This was easy, petting her partner and feeling the way he slowly came undone in her arms. His shaking slowed as the rumbling purr in his chest began. Though she knew that cats could purr when they were hurt or upset, she hoped the purring meant that he was feeling better. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, never stopping the steady pressure of her fingers.

Gradually she grew tired. Chat Noir’s body became heavier, indicating he’d fallen asleep. She wasn’t far behind, the movement of her fingers slowing as she dozed off.

“Adrien? Adrien, wake up!”

“Marinette!”

Both of them came awake at the whisper of their kwamis. Adrien jerked upright, one arm wrapping protectively around Marinette’s shoulders before he was even fully awake. Marinette blinked blearily, peering around him. Plagg’s eyes glowed eerily in the near dark, illuminated by the moonlight spilling into the room. They’d slept through the day, Marinette realized with a jolt of shock. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept for so long in one uninterrupted burst. 

There was no need to ask why Plagg and Tikki had woken them up. From across the room, Marinette heard the whisper of fabric and the soft tread of feet upon the balcony. She gripped Adrien’s arm hard, wondering if they’d been found. They exchanged looks, and she read the look on his face perfectly. With a silent nod, she released him and slid to the edge of the bed to stand.

“Marinette?” 

It was her name, but it wasn’t Tikki, Adrien or Plagg speaking. Marinette’s eyes widened and she gasped.

“Alya?!”


	5. Chapter 5

Adrien stepped forward and wrenched the curtains covering the balcony open. Marinette gasped, pressing a hand over her mouth. It was Alya, or rather Rena Rouge, standing out there with her hands pressed flat against the glass. Carapace and Queen Bee were standing right behind her, crowded in closer than anyone was probably happy with since the balcony was pretty small. Marinette's eyes darted from face to face, but she saw none of the answer or resentment that she'd been worried about. Rena Rouge was crying, the tears spilling freely down her mask.

"Marinette," Rena Rouge choked out again, her voice slightly muffled due to the glass. "Thank god you're safe."

"Alya," Marinette breathed. Adrien fumbled to unlock the door and open it. There was a flash of orange light and then Alya burst into the room, flinging herself past Adrien and onto Marinette. She grabbed Marinette in a hug so tight that it was painful. 

Over Alya's shoulder, Marinette watched two more flashes of light, one green and one yellow, illuminate the room. Adrien pulled Chloé and Nino into a hug at the same time. Marinette's eyes filled with tears when she saw the look on Adrien's face. He looked so grateful for their presence. She squeezed Alya tighter and pressed her forehead to her friend's shoulder, rocking back and forth in time with Alya. She was vaguely aware of Trixx, Tikki, Plagg, Wayzz and Pollen reuniting somewhere behind her.

Finally, Alya pulled away to look at her. "Oh my god, Girl, I'm so sorry. I wanted to die when I find out what happened."

"It's okay," Marinette said, even though it kind of wasn't. She wiped at her face. "I'm just... so glad that you're here, that it worked."

"Dude," Nino said, pulling away from Adrien. He grabbed her in a hug, while Alya went to hug Adrien. Chloé hung back, arms folded. Pollen hovered by her shoulder. When Nino released Marinette, Chloé looked at her with an expression that screamed 'I am not going to hug you so don't even think about coming over here'. Marinette just rolled her eyes. Truth be told, she was just as glad to see Chloé as everyone else. It was just _so nice_ to see someone who hadn't been influenced by an akuma. But a hug would've been pushing the boundaries of that a little too much.

"What happened?" Adrien asked them, returning to Marinette's side. They reached for each other's hands automatically. Alya and Chloé tracked this; while Alya looked thrilled, Chloé's frown deepened into a scowl.

"I don't think any of us remember being under the influence of the akuma," Alya said. "The last thing I remember was my mom telling me to take my sisters to the park to let them burn off some energy before bedtime. The next thing I knew I was Rena Rouge and standing in front of this old guy, and he was telling me that he needed my help to track down Carapace and..." she wrinkled her nose. "Queen Bee."

"Hey," Chloé objected. "You should be grateful that I'm here. I'm the one who will help Ladybug take down that akuma!"

"You do know that Ladybug is Marinette, right?" Alya said.

Chloé sighed. "I'm trying not to think about that fact," she muttered.

This was surreal. Marinette had struggled to hide her secret identity for _so long_ that she could hardly believe that people were discussing it right in front of her. When she thought of all the months of lying, the secrecy, the excuses, all of it down the drain in the span of one night. She couldn't decide if she was more angry or upset. Adrien squeezed her hand, and when she glanced at him she saw her own emotions reflected in his face. It had to be just as weird for him, she thought, and was grateful all over again that she wasn't facing this alone.

"Do you remember anything?" Adrien asked Nino, trying to stave off an argument.

Nino shook his head. "Nope. There's a blank spot in my brain until I woke up as Carapace." He motioned to Wayzz.

"Master asked me to relay a message to you," Wayzz told them. "He thought that Queen Bee would be helpful for your task. He said something about needing as much help as you can get."

"He wasn't wrong," Marinette admitted.

"We're kind of at a loss," Adrien added.

"Are you okay?" Alya asked, pinning them both with a searching look. "I watched the footage." Her chin quivered, but she resolutely blinked back more ears. "It was brutal. He could've killed you. _We_ could've killed you."

Marinette surged forward, grabbing her friend's hands. "Alya, no. You were under the control of an akuma. It wasn't your fault. We don't blame anyone but Hawkmoth."

“You have to say that, Marinette.”

“ _It was not your fault_ ,” Marinette repeated through gritted teeth. She couldn’t deal with this right now. Awful as it sounded, Adrien was already struggling and Marinette needed to save every ounce of compassion and support that she could summon for him. As it was, she was tired and frustrated and _scared_ so that well was running pretty dry.

Alya blinked, looking somewhat taken aback by the ferocity of Marinette’s response. It was Nino who stepped forward, laying a hand on Alya’s shoulder. Gently, he said, “That’s something we can argue about later. Right now, we have to figure out how we’re going to take down that akuma and… Hawkmoth.”

The slight hesitation before he said Hawkmoth’s name was tellingly obvious. Adrien winced and crossed his arms, but didn’t say anything. Marinette backed up to take his hand again. He didn’t look at her, but the strength of his grip spoke volumes. So did Chloé’s face, which was filled with more sympathy than Marinette would’ve thought Chloé was capable of. The look disappeared as soon as Chloé noticed Marinette was watching her, replaced with another frown.

“Well it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Chloé said. “We have to deal with Hawkmoth first.”

“What?” Marinette said, surprised.

“If we take down the akuma, the Hawkmoth will just create another one. Maybe a _worse_ one.” Her pointed glance at Adrien was full of loaded meaning, and Marinette paled. She could do a lot, but dealing with an akumatized Adrien or Chat Noir would be more than even Ladybug could handle. 

Chloé continued, “At least this way, we know what Misfortune is capable of. She’s already turned most of Paris against Ladybug and Chat Noir. We’re wise to her tricks now, so as long as we avoid her rainstorm then we don’t really have to worry about her.”

“Am I going crazy, or did that make sense?” Alya said to Nino in an undertone.

“The real question is what you want to do with him,” Chloé said. 

“What we want to do?” Marinette repeated.

For the first time, Chloé looked a little uncomfortable. “Hawkmoth’s identity was never shown on television,” she admitted, and Marinette realized with a flash of shock that Chloé was right. 

“Chat Noir was leaning over him, blocking the view from the news copters,” she said, voice hushed, looking at Adrien. They’d watched the footage just that morning, but that hadn’t even occurred to Marinette. She could see it in her mind’s eye. The footage had all been shot from an aerial view. Chat Noir had been pinning Hawkmoth to the ground when he got his hand on Hawkmoth’s Miraculous. By the time Hawkmoth pushed Chat Noir away, he’d been fully transformed again.

No one else knew who Hawkmoth was.

“But… wait. How did you know?” Adrien said.

“Master Fu told them,” said Waayz. 

“He was there?” Marinette whispered, feeling gutted. Not because he hadn’t helped them – she wouldn’t have wanted him to risk himself in the middle of that madness – but because he’d seen everything. He’d watched Ladybug and Chat Noir struggle and lose against Hawkmoth. The humiliation of it stung.

“Yes,” Waayz said with a nod. “He was waiting for your call. He would’ve reached out to the other Miraculous holders earlier, but he was unaware of their identities aside from Queen Bee. And he felt it best not to give a Miraculous to just her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chloé demanded.

“I can’t imagine,” Alya deadpanned.

“Much as I hate to say this, Chloé is right,” Nino said, grimacing. “Going after the source of the akumas first makes the most sense stragetically, especially if he can create more akumas once he’s rested.”

“He can,” Tikki piped up, floating over to land on Marinette’s shoulder. “His special attack would work just like anyone else’s.”

More akumas. Marinette was exhausted just thinking about it. “Okay. You three work on a plan,” she said.

“What about you?” Chloé said. “Don’t leave all the work to us!”

“Believe me, we’re not,” Marinette said dryly. She tugged at Adrien’s hand and he came willingly, following her into the bathroom. Closing the door in Chloé’s outraged face was more satisfying than it should’ve been. She leaned against the door and looked at Adrien as he sank down onto the toilet, face in his hands. Plagg and Tikki exchanged worried looks.

“How did he get so lucky?” Adrien asked. “I just… his identity stays a secret while ours is wide out there? What kind of justice is there in that?”

“Oh, _Chaton_.” Marinette went to him, setting her hands on his shoulders. She wasn’t expecting him to wrap his arms around her waist and press his face to her midsection, but maybe she should’ve been. She hugged him back, setting her arms around his neck. 

“I didn’t see this coming. I don’t know what to do,” he whispered, sounding anguished.

Marinette bit her lip and hugged him tighter, curving her upper half over him protectively. “I think we should unmask him and then let the police deal with him,” she said softly. “Once we get the Butterfly Miraculous away from him, he’s no longer our problem. Then he’ll face justice.”

“He’s my father,” Adrien muttered. “I should let him go to jail? What kind of son does that make me?”

“A good one,” Plagg said, and Adrien jolted in surprise. He pulled back just enough to stare at the kwami.

“What?”

“Kid, you’re Chat Noir. I wouldn’t have chosen you if you weren’t a good person,” Plagg said. “Your father made some bad choices and he deserves to face punishment for them. That doesn’t reflect poorly on you. You’re a good kitten and a good son. I should know. I’ve seen some bad ones.”

“Did you know?” Adrien asked, looking from Plagg to Tikki, and Marinette didn’t have to guess at what he was asking.

“No,” Plagg said.

Tikki chimed in, “Plagg and I can sense each other’s presence, but that’s because we’re bonded. We know Nooroo is somewhere in the city, but we can’t pinpoint a specific location. Otherwise, it would’ve been easy to find Hawkmoth from day one.”

Adrien nodded. “Okay.”

“If this is too much for you, we understand,” Marinette said softly, running her hand through his hair. “You could go after the akuma instead.”

“And leave you to face Hawkmoth alone, My Lady?” Adrien looked horrified by the idea. “Absolutely not. He _stabbed_ you the last time you fought him.” He clutched her tighter, as though she could slip through his fingers any second.

“He’s your father,” Marinette said. “I wouldn’t… I’m not asking you to choose between us, Adrien.”

“Maybe you should. I’d choose you.”

Marinette’s heart flipped. “Adrien,” she said again.

He looked up at her, green eyes wet but fierce. “You’re everything to me, Marinette. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered, overwhelmed. It seemed natural, in that moment, to lean down and press her mouth to his. It was their first kiss and it was happening in a dirty motel bathroom, while their three friends planned for battle and their kwamis looked on. What was her life?

When she pulled back, Adrien had a small smile on his face. He shifted his legs, pulling her in closer so that she could sit on his lap. Marinette kept an arm around his neck, gently running her fingers through his hair, while he laid his head on her chest. Tikki and Plagg came to perch on them, offering what little comfort they could in their own ways.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm just saying, a phone call would - "

"He knows Adrien is Chat Noir, why would he pick up the phone?"

"It's still his father, Chloé!"

"His father who is a dick."

"I never thought I'd agree with you, Lafitte."

"Excuse me, it's his super controlling father who is probably going even more crazy than he already is because his son hasn't been seen in over twenty-four hours. There is no way Gabriel Agreste wouldn't answer the phone."

"What purpose would that even serve?"

Adrien tensed as the increasingly loud conversation between their three teammates became impossible to ignore. Marinette bit the inside of her cheek in frustration. She'd finally gotten him to relax a little, but now it seemed like her hard work had fallen to bits. She ran her hands through his hair again and sighed, realizing that they probably needed to leave the bathroom. Nothing would be solved if they stayed locked up in here. In fact, things might even get worse if Alya finally snapped and tried to murder Chloé. They had precious few people on their side as it was.

"Hey," she whispered, nuzzling Adrien's cheek. "You're not calling him."

"But maybe Alya's right."

"No, Adrien. It won't do any good. We already know where he is," Marinette said. She pressed another kiss to his mouth when it seemed like he was going to argue, which had the double effect of shutting him up and making him smile. She'd never thought she would have that kind of effect on Adrien Agreste; knowing that she did was enough to make her smile too, even in the midst of everything that was happening.

She reluctantly slid off of his lap and took his hands to help him up. She opened the bathroom door and stepped out just in time to see Chloé throwing her arms up in frustration. Alya looked like she wanted to punch the wall. Nino was standing awkwardly into between the two women, arms folded and looking very uncomfortable. Marinette fought the urge to sigh again. She was grateful that Alya, Nino and Chloé had come to their aid. She really was. But she would probably never stop wishing that the Bee Miraculous could've gone to someone who was just a little less abrasive than Chloé Bourgeois.

"Look," Marinette said to the room at large. "We already know where Hawkmoth is. He'll be at the Agreste mansion. It's the most logical place. There's no need for Adrien to try calling him. It's a good idea, but it wouldn't give us any more information than we already know."

Adrien drew closer to her, wrapping his arms around her from the back. "She's right. My father literally spent years there without leaving. I can't imagine him having his secret lair anywhere else."

"Well that's just great. That place is like a fortress. How are we going to get in?" Chloé said.

"I'll use Cataclysm if I have to," Adrien said, flexing the fingers of one hand.

"That'll leave you defenceless until Plagg can recharge," Marinette said, frowning. 

"We might not have a choice, Princess. Chloé's right. When the security measures are activated, there's no getting in or out. I know that for a fact." Adrien's voice was steady, but she could feel how his arms shook a little. She brought her own hands up to cover his.

"What are you going to do? Turn him over to the police?" Alya asked.

"Yes," Marinette said. It was the logical answer. "You can record his unmasking as evidence. Once we have his Miraculous, he won't be our problem anymore." If only it was that simple. She hated the thought of putting Adrien through that. The Agreste name would be dragged through the mud. She was certain that, even with incontrovertible evidence, Gabriel would throw all of his money at the courts to try and lighten his sentence. It was going to be so hard.

Nino cleared his throat. "Where, uh, where will you go? You're not eighteen yet. And I know you don't have any family..."

Adrien flinched. Marinette set her jaw. "He's going to live with me."

"Mari?" Alya said, blinking in surprise.

"My parents will be fine with it," Marinette said. They'd have to be. She wouldn't give them any other choice. Frankly, after they realized what had happened, her parents would feel so guilty that they'd probably give her anything. She didn't like the thought of using their guilt against them, but she'd do it for her partner. She was quickly beginning to realize that she would do _anything_ for her partner. It wasn't as scary as it should have been.

"And if they're not?" Chloé said.

"Then they'll only have to put up with us until we go to university. We'll move out together and get an apartment," Marinette replied, staring Chloé down. Chloé's lip curled, but she didn't argue.

"So we're doing this, then," Alya said. "Great. Everyone all charged up?" She turned to the kwamis.

"I think the more important question is, are you two all healed up?" Tikki flew closer to Marinette and Adrien.

Marinette flexed her shoulder absently. It still hurt, but it was less 'burning pain that made her want to die' and more 'annoying throb that would get worse with time but wasn't actually debilitating'. It was literally miraculous how fast they could heal when they were in their suits. The rest of her body still ached too, but she knew she'd feel better after she transformed. Adrien's arms slid from around her; she eyed him as he moved and quickly judged that he'd healed about as well as she had. More time would've been better, of course, but the more time they took, the bigger the chance that Hawkmoth would akumatize someone else. 

"We'll be okay," Adrien said with a glance at Marinette. She nodded.

Neither Alya nor Nino looked wholly convinced. Marinette ignored their concerned looks and walked back over to the bed to pick up her purse. They could leave most of their stuff here. Either she and Adrien would be returning to pick it up, or - well. If they lost and Hawkmoth won, the clothing they'd brought with them would be the least of their worries. She tried not to think about that as she picked up her purse and stuffed it full of cookies and cheese. Tikki and Plagg would need as much sustenance as she could give them later. She picked up an extra cookie and a chunk of camembert and held them out to their kwamis.

"May I have a cookie?" Trixx asked, nose twitching.

"Of course. Help yourself to whatever you'd like," Marinette said. Once Plagg and Tikki had taken her offering, she picked up another cookie and handed it to Trixx. She wasn’t sure what Trixx typically ate, but the kwami didn’t seem opposed to branching out and bit into the cookie with a loud crunch.

“Do you have any honey?” Pollen asked politely. 

Marinette eyed the rather pathetic selection and shook her head. “Sorry. We were… in a bit of a rush. We do have cookies at the bakery that are made with honey as opposed to sugar, but I don’t have any here with me.”

“Try a cookie, Pollen. Or some cheese,” said Trixx.

Plagg growled. “The cheese is _mine_.”

“Plagg,” Adrien admonished.

“You’re such a pig, Plagg,” Trixx muttered, popping the last of his cookie into his mouth. “Just for that…”

“Nooooo!” Plagg howled. Adren grabbed his tail just in time to keep him from going after Trixx after Trixx made a dive into the little pile of cheese that Marinette hadn’t been able to squeeze into her purse.

“Waayz, would you like anything?” Marinette said, deciding to ignore them. 

“No, thank you. I am good,” Waayz said, not moving from where he was perched on top of Nino’s baseball cap.

“I’m ready, Marinette,” Tikki said, dusting her little paws off.

“Okay. Tikki, spots on!”

“Plagg, claws out!”

“Trixx, let’s pounce!”

“Wayzz, shell on!”

“Pollen, buzz up!”

Flashes of light illuminated the hotel room. The suit formed around her and Marinette immediately felt better. Ladybug always had things under control. She looked over at Chat Noir only to find that he was already looking at her; there was a grim, determined expression on his face. She reached for his hand again and caught it, giving it a warm squeeze before she turned to address their friends.

“We’re going to have to split up to make our way there safely. People will be watching out for Chat and me, and they’ll be expecting us together. So we’re all going to travel separately. We’ll attract less attention that way.”

“I don’t like it,” Chat Noir said immediately. His hand tightened around hers.

Frankly, Ladybug didn’t like it either. The thought of letting him out of her sight made the hair on her arms stand up. Yet she still thought it was the best plan. In the middle of the day, with the sun shining, she and Chat Noir would stand out like a sore thumb. If it weren’t for the fact that speed was a necessity and it would take at least two hours to get there as civilians, she would’ve suggested they travel incognito.

“I don’t like it either,” Rena Rouge announced. “New plan. Boys and girls. You two will travel together and so will us three.”

“Rena…” Ladybug begun.

“Nope, not up for debate. Let go of your kitty and let’s go,” Rena Rouge said, putting both hands on Ladybug’s shoulders and gently tugging her away. Softer, she added, “The sooner you let go, the sooner we can kick Hawkmoth’s butt and you two can cuddle all you want.”

Annoyingly, Rena Rouge had a point. Still, Ladybug resisted. She let go of Chat Noir’s hand but reached up to touch his face instead. She knew him well enough to be able to read the stress and fear in his eyes. There was nothing that she could say to make it better right now, either. In the end, she settled for leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek. It was the best promise she could make.

Then she forced herself to turn away and unlatch her yoyo, throwing it out before she could change her mind. Her yoyo caught and she reached for Rena Rouge, launching them both into the air. Queen Bee followed, landing on the rooftop beside them seconds later. Ladybug half-turned, watching as Chat Noir and Carapace left the room by way of Chat Noir’s baton. He used it to lower them to the ground, and then they set off on foot, disappearing into an alley. In moments, she lost sight of them and a jolt of raw panic shivered through her.

If she lost Chat Noir, she lost everything. 

“Would you get moving already?” Queen Bee said, spinning her stinger. “They’re going to beat us there at this rate.”

“Your compassion knows no bounds, as always,” Rena Rouge said dryly.

“I’m just saying. It’s not the end of the world. This level of drama is ridiculous.”

Annoyingly, Queen Bee wasn’t wrong and they all knew it. But she just… didn’t understand. She didn’t know what it was like to literally have the whole city out of your blood, and have only one person to depend on. She didn’t know what it was like to stare your enemy in the face and know that he wanted to kill you, or to hold your partner while he wept because that enemy was his father. For Queen Bee’s sake, Ladybug hoped she never found out.

“Let’s go,” she said, cutting off the argument before it could start, and used her yoyo to propel herself forward.


	7. Chapter 7

The Agreste mansion looked no different than it had the last time Ladybug had been there, when she'd been trying to protect Adrien and Gabriel Agreste from an akuma. Remembering that time now, renewed anger began surging through her. All this time, Gabriel had been putting his own son in danger. And not just because Adrien was Chat Noir. Every time an akuma had attacked Paris, Adrien had been in danger just like everyone else. He could've been wounded or killed at any time. What could Gabriel want that was worth risking his child's life for?

She landed on the roof of a building about a block away, then leapt lightly down to a balcony, then to the awning hanging over a storefront, before finally lowering herself to the sidewalk. Her heart hammered uncontrollably, leaving her breathless as her eyes swept the empty street. It was hard to shake the feeling that someone or something was watching, waiting for the moment when she lowered her guard to pounce. Most of Paris was still under Misfortune's control, after all. Anyone who saw Ladybug would feel compelled to try and hurt her. She slid back into the shadows instinctively, for the first time wishing that her suit weren't quite so conspicious.

"You okay, girl?" Rena Rouge whispered, landing soundlessly on the sidewalk beside her. Queen Bee swung down beside her, then retracted her stinger with a smooth flick of her wrist. Seeing the two of them helped a little.

"I'm fine," Ladybug mouthed at them, not wanting to risk speaking. She crooked her finger at them, gesturing in the direction of the Agreste mansion, and she started to run. Had it been Chat Noir, she wouldn't have needed to look to make sure he was one step behind her. Because it was Rena Rouge and Queen Bee, she did glance back. Fortunately, both of them were following her.

It didn't take long to cover the remaining ground. In short order, Ladybug was crouched behind a bush directly across the street. Surprisingly, the Agreste mansion wasn't on lockdown the way she'd expected that it might be. Drawn curtains were the only things keeping them from being able to see inside. She cocked her head, measuring the height of the walls that surrounded the mansion, and realized that all five of them would be able to clear it with ease. From there it would only be a matter of finding an unlocked door or an open window to get inside - maybe Adrien had left a window open before he left...

But it couldn't be that easy. Hawkmoth was smarter than that. He would never just invite them into his house. 

A hand came down on her shoulder and she startled badly, rearing back and throwing a fist instinctively. There was a blur of motion and then gentle claws caught her fist, reeling her in against a familiar chest. Ladybug was calming before she fully grasped what was going on, meeting her partner's green-eyed gaze. He gave her a strained smile, then nodded to the ground beside them. She followed his gaze and saw Carapace on the ground, rubbing his ass; he'd been the one to touch her, she realized, and Chat Noir had knocked him aside to keep him from getting punched out.

"Sorry," Carapace whispered, looking up at her with a sheepish expression.

Ladybug tried to smile at him, leaning back into Chat Noir's comforting embrace. She wasn't sure when his free arm had slid around her waist, nor when his tail had wound around the upper thigh of her right leg, but she didn't oppose the grip in the slightest. She put her free hand on his arm and looked back at the mansion, half-expecting something to have chnaged. One of the lights in a room on the upper story had gone out, but that didn't really mean much. It was likely that Hawkmoth wasn't the only one there, since Adrien had told her once they had a live-in chef and several maids. Her concern increased; what if civilians got caught in the crossfire?

Chat Noir jumped suddenly. Ladybug glanced back at him worriedly, then saw the reason for his odd behavior. His baton was buzzing, which meant that he was getting a call from someone. Since all four of his closest friends were standing around him, it stood to reason that it was someone he didn't want to talk. His expression was grim as he dropped her hand and reached back for his baton. She leaned against him to better see the screen and the name that appeared on it, her eyes widening slightly.

Nathalie Sancoeur.

"I... oh," Chat Noir said quietly, his fingers tightening around his baton. He looked at her, obviously hoping for some guidance, but Ladybug could only shrug. Nathalie had always seemed like a cold, unforgiving person to her, but Chat Noir was the person who knew her best.

"Answer it," Rena Rouge hissed. "It can't hurt."

He shrugged at Ladybug and obeyed, pressing the button to accept the video call. Ladybug stayed close while motioning their three comrades away. It would be better if Hawkmoth thought that only Chat Noir and Ladybug had shown up. They both tensed as the screen changed to show Nathalie's face. Nathalie's eyes flicked rapidly between the two of them for a few seconds, and Ladybug suddenly wondered if maybe Nathalie had fallen under Misfortune's spell too - 

"Adrien," Nathalie said at last. "I'm glad that you're safe."

Okay, scratch that. 

"Nathalie, do you know what's going on?" Chat Noir asked. It was something of a redundant question since Nathalie clearly knew who he was, but Ladybug knew there was a deeper meaning to it. He was really asking if she knew who Hawkmoth was.

"Yes," Nathalie said simply.

Chat Noir flinched.

"You need to get in here," Nathalie went on, as though she hadn't noticed his reaction. "I've left the back door unlocked. The security camera will loop for approximately the next five minutes, so you're got limited time. You have to hurry. If he figures out that you're across this street -"

"Wait," Ladybug interrupted. "You're helping us?" She couldn't help the skepticism in her voice.

Nathalie's eyes sharpened. "I have my reasons."

"How long have you known?" Ladybug said.

"That's neither here nor there."

That was its own answer. Suddenly it was Chat Noir leaning against Ladybug; she bore his weight without hesitation, frowning down at the screen. "Frankly, I disagree. It's a valid question. If you're working with Hawkmoth -"

"I'm not. Not anymore," Nathalie said, and Chat Noir gave a low whine that made Ladybug's heart ache. She hadn't realized until this moment that Chat Noir had been holding out hope that Nathalie wasn't involved in this, but of course he was. Chat Noir - Adrien - had so few people to depend on. _Of course_ he'd been praying that one adult in his life wouldn't have turned out to be a traitor.

"That's not super convincing," Ladybug said, angling her body so that Chat Noir was better hidden from Nathalie's gaze. His head sank down to her shoulder, face hidden in one of her pigtails.

"Frankly, it doesn't matter to me whether you believe me or not," Nathalie replied. "You need a way in. I've provided one. It's your decision as to whether or not you take it. If you decide not to, you're going tohave to find your own way."

She ended the call then, leaving Ladybug staring at the blank screen with an increasing amount of frustration. She lifted her gaze and looked at their friends. All three of them looked as conflicted as Ladybug felt. Queen Bee was probably the one who knew Nathalie the best after Chat Noir, so Ladybug looked her way. Queen Bee caught her gaze and shrugged, lifting both hands up. 

"Don't ask me. That woman's always had her head so far up M. Agreste's ass it's a wonder she can breathe."

"Chloé!" Chat Noir said, sounding a lot more like himself when he lifted his head, and Ladybug was actually kind of grateful for Queen Bee's presence. Not that she'd ever be willing to admit that, of course.

"It's your choice," Ladybug said, peering down at him.

Chat Noir hesitated, expression conflicted, before he sighed. "I think her offer is genuine."

Ladybug wasn't sure she agreed, but she nodded. "Okay. Everyone up over the wall. Chat, you're first. We'll follow your lead."

He nodded and caught her hand, bringing it up for a quick kiss. They exchanged a look that was full of unspoken sentiment. He was thankful that she was trusting him, and she was worried about him. She took a moment to squeeze his hand, hoping that he understood what it meant: the rest of the people in his life may have let him down, but his _real_ family was standing here with him right now. Alya, Nino, even Chloé, and most definitely Marinette herself - they would never betray him or break his trust the way that Gabriel Agreste had. His eyes softened, some of the tension draining away, and he gave her a real smile this time.

He knew.

"Come on, let's get this show on the road," Queen Bee hissed at them. "You can make eyes at each other later."

"Love you too," Chat Noir said, rolling his eyes and releasing Ladybug's hand. He bounded across the street. Ladybug motioned to Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee to follow, then brought up the rear. She watched as Chat Noir's long legs coiled and then released, sending him springing upwards. He cleared the wall with remarkable ease, tail outstretched behind him for balance as he landed on the other side. Rena Rouge followed, slightly more clumsy than Chat Noir, followed by Carapace. Queen Bee opted to use her stinger, letting it pull her up to the top of the fence and then jumping down. Ladybug jumped, clearing the wall in one leap like her partner.

On the other side, Chat Noir motioned for them to follow him and led them around the far side of the house. He took a winding route, presumably to avoid security cameras that may not have been looped. He moved like the cat he was, prowling through the shadows to the point where, had it not been for her enhanced vision, Ladybug would've been hard-pressed to keep sight of him the whole time. Rena Rouge was actually pretty good at being stealthy too; Carapace and Queen Bee, not so much. 

The route brought them right up against the back of the hour. Putting a finger to his lips in a wordless bid for silence, Chat Noir reached out and turned the doorknob. Ladybug held her breath unconsciously, half-expecting an akuma or Hawkmoth himself to leap out at them. Instead, the door swung inward and revealed a large kitchen that rivaled the kitchen at her parent's bakery for size. There was no one inside. Chat Noir made to step forward, but Rena Rouge gripped his arm. She gave him a cold look and pushed in front of him, striding inside without hesitation.

"Alya!" Ladybug wanted to cry out, just barely biting it back. She could've cried when nothing happened. They filed inside one by one, with Chat Noir bringing up the rear this time and closing the door gently behind them.

"Upstairs," Chat Noir breathed.

Ladybug managed to grab Rena Rouge's arm. "What was that?" she hissed as they made their way through the kitchen.

"What was what?" Rena Rouge said, all innocence.

"That! You going in first! Do you know how dangerous that was?!"

Rena Rouge stared at her like she was stupid. "Duh. Of course I do."

"Then why did you do it?!"

"Because you need him," Rena Rouge hissed back. "I know you, Mari. You're barely holding it together. You panicked when you and Chat were apart for like half an hour. If something happens to that boy, it's gonna take you both down and vice versa. Paris needs Ladybug and Chat Noir more than anything right now. The rest of us not so much." 

Ladybug's mouth hung open. "That's not true!"

"Yeah, it is," Rena Rouge said with a sad smile. "It's you two against the world and it always will be. I get it; I'm okay with that." She patted Ladybug's arm and then gently gripped her arm, pulling her along so that they could catch up to the others.


	8. Chapter 8

The second floor of the Agreste mansion was just as dark and quiet as the first. Ladybug felt a chill run up her spine. She hadn’t been here very often, but something didn’t feel right. There should’ve been staff around. She sidled up beside her partner and reached absently for the hand that wasn’t clutching his baton. He gave it to her, and the tightness of his grip told her that her suspicions were right.

They exchanged a silent look. Months of teamwork had enabled Ladybug to be able to read her partner’s body language and expressions like a book. The jerk of his head was more for the benefit of their teammates than for her, but she appreciated it nevertheless. He led them down the hall, around a corner, up a short flight of stairs, down another, longer hall, left, right, then another left, and finally paused before a door.

At this rate, Ladybug thought, Hawkmoth could win just based on the fact that his house was like a freaking maze.

Chat Noir paused before a particular door and reached for the knob. The door opened soundlessly, revealing a room that she’d never seen before. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the painting that hung between two black curtains at the head of the room. Even if she hadn’t seen Chat Noir’s mother before, the blond hair and green eyes were unmistakable. Adrien, she realized, looked so much like his mother that there wasn’t a lot of his father in him. He was probably grateful for that right now.

They filed into the room one by one. As Carapace eased the door shut, he said, “What now?”

“There must be some room in the mansion I’ve never seen before,” Chat Noir said. “The safe where I find the book about the miraculouses is behind my mother’s painting. It seemed to me that a door to a secret room would either be here or in the library.”

“A safe?” Rena Rouge said, sounding intrigued. She crossed the room and curled her fingers around the edge of the painting, pulling gently. It swung off the wall much like a door would, revealing said safe.

“We should get inside. Spots off!” Ladybug said. 

“Marinette!” Chat Noir said.

“Hush, Kitty. Tikki, can you phase through and open the safe?” Marinette said, moving closer. 

“Sure!” Tikki chirped, phasing through the safe door. It swung open a few seconds later. Marinette’s eyes widened when she caught sight of the broach on the bottom shelf. To the eyes of the average person, it would’ve looked like an uninteresting, somewhat gaudy piece of jewelry. But the detailing on what was unmistakably peacock feathers told her differently, and she pointed to the broach.

“Tikki, is that…?”

“It’s the Peacock miraculous,” Tikki confirmed. “Hurry, take it!”

She picked it up with careful fingers, rubbing her thumb over the smooth feathers. Tikki had never told her much about the peacock. Now that she knew what the other miraculous holders were capable of, she wondered what the Peacock could do. Why hadn’t Hawkmoth ever found a companion to help him if he had another miraculous? Because he didn’t trust anyone? Or because the powers of the Peacock wouldn’t be helpful for his mission?

“ _That’s_ a miraculous?” Queen Bee said skeptically, leaning closer to look at it. “It looks like something you’d buy from a charity shop.”

“Your comb doesn’t look that great either,” said Rena Rouge.

Queen Bee puffed up. “Excuse me?!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and tucked the Peacock miraculous away in her pocket for safe-keeping. At least now they knew that Hawkmoth wouldn’t be able to use it against them. She transformed back into Ladybug and looked around the room. Chat Noir and Carapace were examining the walls. One of those walls was an exterior one, so they didn’t have to worry about it. She moved over to the closest wall and knocked gently, wondering if she’d hear something hollow on the other side.

“You know,” Chat Noir says finally, “I’m trying to think about what’s under this room, and I’m drawing a blank.”

They all turn to look at him as one. “What do you mean?” asked Carapace.

“I mean… there’s clearly another room beneath us, but I don’t think I’ve ever been into it. The piano room ends right about… here.” Chat Noir stepped towards the door, looked around, and then drew an invisible line across the floor with his foot. “But then there’s just a wall. I always figured that was an exterior wall, but that doesn’t make any sense when you look at the outside of the house. I can’t believe I never realized that there was something wrong with the layout…”

“It’s not your fault,” said Rena Rouge. “You didn’t know your dad had a secret hide out. Does that mean we should be looking for something under us?”

“Everyone stand still,” Chat Noir said. He began walking back and forth, tapping his foot every few inches. Ladybug watched him closely. At last, he stopped on a spot about five feet in front of the painting. He tapped the ground once, twice, three times, head cocked to the side. His cat ears were standing straight up, swiveling slightly. Clearly he was listening to something but…

“I don’t hear anything,” Ladybug said.

“It sounds different than the rest of the floor.”

“Maybe there’s a secret passage under there,” Rena Rouge said.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, looking at each other. Then Chat Noir put his hands on his hips. “There must be some sort of control to make this open. My father couldn’t destroy the floor every time he wanted to go down.”

“Cataclysm?” Carapace suggested.

“I don’t like the idea of using it this early,” Chat Noir said reluctantly. “There’s got to be something… Spread out and look. It wouldn’t be obvious.”

Ladybug walked over to examine the collage of photos on the far wall. They were all of Adrien. It would’ve been heartwarming to see them, but they all looked so… posed. None of them were candid photos. Adrien was wearing his model smile in every one. When she thought about the photos her parents had on their walls, she felt a renewed burst of sadness for her partner. What kind of father only cared about the mask his son presented to the world?

“Oh my god!” Queen Bee shrieked behind them. Ladybug jumped and spun at the same time. She was just in time to see Queen Bee jerking her hand away from the painting of Adrien’s mother. Part of the floor, just in front of where Chat Noir had been standing, was moving.

“You found it! Good job!” Chat Noir exclaimed.

“She only found it because she was being lazy and leaning against it instead of helping,” Rena Rouge mumbled. Ladybug bit back a smile – that sounded exactly like Chloé – and hurried over to the hole. They all peered inside, but all Ladybug could see was darkness. 

“See anything, Chat?” she asked.

He squinted. “Not really. It must be deep.” He knelt and traced a claw around the edge. “It looks like there was an elevator mechanism of some sort, but it must’ve been disabled. He knows we’re here.”

“Well, then there’s only one way down. Who wants to jump first?” Carapace said, looking around at them.

“I’ll go,” Ladybug said. Before Chat Noir could protest, and she knew that he was going to, she added, “I can connect my yoyo to something up here and lower myself slowly. If I go too far and I don’t hit the bottom, I can pull myself back up. It’s safer than just jumping.” She didn’t wait for someone to argue, quickly throwing out her yoyo. It wrapped around a marble statue on the far wall. Then she jumped into the hole.

“My Lady!” Chat Noir yelped above her. She glanced up and saw his wide, worried eyes. Part of her felt bad, but she wasn’t sure that they had another choice. It wasn’t like Queen Bee was going to volunteer.

“It’s okay, Chat,” Ladybug said, lowering herself slowly. Thank god for magical suits that absorbed damage and were nigh-on indestructible. Otherwise, she would’ve had ridiculous rope burns on the palms of her hands by the time this was all said and done.

Her heart pounded when she got far enough down that the light from above didn’t reach, and she suddenly wished she’d thought to leave her phone out when she transformed. She could’ve used the light from it to illuminate her way. It seemed to take _forever_ before her feet came into contact with something; she startled, grip tightening around her yoyo, and carefully eased her weight fully onto both feet.

She still couldn’t see. She jerked her yoyo lightly and heard it unwind. It zipped into her hand and she opened it up. With the small light, she realized that she was standing in a long corridor. At the far end was a set of double doors. That was where Gabriel Agreste had to be. She turned in a slow circle, illuminating every inch of the corridor, until she was sure she was alone.

“Seems good,” she called up softly.

In less than twenty seconds, Chat Noir landed on the ground beside her. He was graceful as always, knees bending automatically to absorb the shock of the jump, before he bounced back up and threw his arms around her, jerking her into a hug. Ladybug staggered and nearly dropped her yoyo. She just managed to keep hold and wound her other arm around his neck, realizing that Chat Noir was shaking from head-to-toe.

“Don’t do that to me again, Princess,” he begged quietly. “I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you when I was close enough to hear it but too far away to help.”

“Shh, kitty. I’m fine,” Ladybug said, returning the hug. There would always be an element of danger in their jobs, but she didn’t think now was the time to remind her partner of that. Not when they were about to go into battle against his father.

Hearing rustling in the tunnel above them, she shuffled Chat Noir aside just in time. Rena Rouge hit the ground, not quite as gracefully as Chat Noir, but without falling over. Carapace wasn’t so lucky, landing on his butt with a quiet yelp. Queen Bee chose to use her stinger to lower herself, only letting go once she’d touched down. She retracted it and they all turned to look at the door.

“Weapons out,” Ladybug ordered, holding her yoyo in the palm of her hand. They had no idea what was going to happen once they got in there. She watched as Chat Noir took his baton off his back and separated it into two. Rena Rouge was holding her flute at the ready. Carapace had his shell, and Queen Bee her stinger.

They advanced down the corridor. Ladybug caught Chat Noir’s eyes and nodded at him. As one, they darted forward and leapt. In a perfectly timed move, their feet hit the doors and they slammed open. Ladybug landed, her eyes already sweeping the room, and barely had a chance to register that there was more than one person inside before an akuma was on top of her.


	9. Chapter 9

“Ladybug!”

Distantly, Ladybug heard Chat Noir screaming her name. But she was a little too busy to answer him. She gasped for breath, the initial blow having taken her by surprise, and threw her elbow back. The akuma pinning her to the ground grunted in pain and eased up on its hold. Ladybug took advantage of the momentary lapse and bucked her hips, throwing the akuma off balance. She scrambled up.

She couldn’t even see her friends for all the akumas in the room, and she realized their mistake. Obviously Hawkmoth had taken the time to rest up and create more akumas, or he’d created just one more akuma with the ability to replicate itself. Either way, there were so many she couldn’t even count them all. The room was a heaving mass of dark shapes. Through it all she could hear Carapace, Queen Bee and Rena Rouge yelling, but Chat Noir was worringly silent.

For a split second she thought about calling for her Lucky Charm, but she wasn’t sure if that would be dangerous this early in the game. And then the decision was seized from her: akumas swarmed her, and there were so many that she couldn’t fight herself free. She went down hard onto her belly, squirming and kicking with all of her might. Her yoyo was grabbed out of her hand.

“Enough!”

Lights went on, illuminating every last inch of the room. Ladybug flinched at the sudden brightness, her eyes watering at the change. She blinked past the tears, squinting, and saw that Hawkmoth was standing at the far end of the room. He’d probably been there all along, she thought grimly. She looked away from him, spotting her teammates quickly. All of them were pinned and had been stripped of their weapons, just as she was.

“I knew if I waited you would find your way to me,” Hawkmoth said. The edges of his purple mask moved as he gave a smug smile. “Always the hero.”

“Fuck you,” Ladybug spat, struggling beneath the weight of the akumas leaning on her. Now that she could see, she realized that her second guess had been correct. Surrounding them were dozens of akumas that all looked the same; they were men, about Chat Noir’s height, with green hair, blue skin, and wearing white karate uniforms with black belts. She had no idea what the akuma’s story was and frankly she didn’t care. It was enough that the akumas were unnaturally strong.

“Such language. What would your beloved fans think if they could hear you swearing at me?” he inquired, cocking his head. 

“Probably the same thing they’d think about Gabriel Agreste when they find out he’s Hawkmoth,” Ladybug shot back. 

“Ah, but that’s not going to happen. Once I have your miraculous and combine it with Chat Noir’s, I’ll be able to rewrite the timeline,” Hawkmoth said, clicking his cane lightly against the floor. “All of this will never have happened. I’ll have my wife back, and none of you will even know what a miraculous is. There will be no one to stop me then. All will be as it should.”

“That’s not your decision to make!” Rena Rouge shouted, before letting out a yelp of pain as an akuma roughly slapped a hand over her mouth. Queen Bee and Carapace were similarly gagged, but Ladybug could see their angry expressions. Carapace in particular looked pissed.

“Rena!” Ladybug cried, before glaring back at Hawkmoth. “You can’t do this! You can’t rewrite the timeline to serve your own selfish purposes!”

“Selfish?” Hawkmoth took a step forward, fingers tightening around the cane. “You have _no idea_ what you’re talking about. I’m doing this for my wife. For my son.”

“Your son doesn’t want this!” Ladybug snapped, glancing in Chat Noir’s direction. She could barely see him. The akumas had literally piled themselves on top of him to keep him pinned to the ground. She was a little surprised he hadn’t used Cataclysm yet to free himself, but figured he was waiting on her cue. The problem was, she didn’t have a plan. Not yet. They were so vastly outnumbered and none of them had their weapons. What could they do?

“You don’t speak for him. Let’s hear from Adrien,” Hawkmoth said, making a gesture at the akumas. As one, they slid off of Chat Noir and reached down to wrench him to his feet. Chat Noir was gasping for breath, and she quickly realized that the akumas had been suffocating him. Her fury towards Hawkmoth ascended to a new height.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chat Noir asked, hanging limpy in the grasp of the akumas.

“I was trying to keep you out of this. I wanted to rewrite the timeline and make things better without you having to remember your mother going missing,” Hawkmoth explained. “I didn’t know that you were dragged into this fight by outside forces.” His expression darkened, and he directed a fierce glare in Ladybug’s direction. She glared back and was about to respond when one of the akumas pinning her down clapped a hand over her mouth.

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir cried out again. “Please, Father, stop this. Don’t hurt them! Don’t hurt her!” He turned a pleading gaze onto Hawkmoth.

“I wouldn’t have to hurt them if they didn’t fight me,” Hawkmoth said. He moved for the first time, crossing the room in a series of long strides. Ladybug jerked uselessly against the akumas as Hawkmoth grabbed Chat Noir’s hand, twisting it to reveal the Black Cat miraculous. For a long moment, everyone stared at the black ring. Chat Noir tried to fight as Hawkmoth gripped the ring, but Hawkmoth smoothly pulled it off.

With a flash of green light, Adrien’s legs buckled and he slid to his knees under the force of the akumas. Hawkmoth held his prize aloft, examining the silver ring intently. He was so focused on it that he didn’t see Plagg appear and scuttle into Adrien’s overshirt. Ladybug bit her lip until it hurt, hoping that Hawkmoth wouldn’t think to drag the kwami away from Adrien. Maybe he wouldn’t realize that the bond between Plagg and Adrien was strong enough to sustain Plagg even without the miraculous being in Adrien’s direct possession.

“All this time,” Hawkmoth breathed. “It was right under my nose and I had no idea.” He shook his head, curling his fingers around the ring. “You should have told me, Adrien.”

“You wouldn’t have cared,” Adrien said, voice breaking. “You never cared.”

“I would’ve cared about this,” Hawkmoth countered.

“How was I supposed to know that? You treated me like an ornament, Father. Something you polished up so that you could show it off. I’m your _son_. Don’t you care about what I want?”

“You want your mother back.”

“Not like this,” Adrien whispered. “Never like this.”

“By any means necessary,” Hawkmoth said, and retreated back to where he’d been before.

“No!” Adrien shouted. “Mother wouldn’t want this! You have to know that.”

“She doesn’t need to know. You won’t know, either. Changing the timeline will erase this from your mind,” Hawkmoth said, turning his gaze on Ladybug.

Adrien thrashed in the grip of the akumas. “Father! No! Don’t touch her! I love her! If you hurt her, you hurt me!”

Oh, Adrien, Ladybug thought. She refused to flinch as Hawkmoth drew even with her. He looked down at her and then drew his foot back, kicking her in the right shoulder. Adrien screamed her name. Ladybug reeled back, gasping with pain. She hadn’t expected how hard that blow would hit her, and he’d chosen her already injured shoulder. The pain struck deep.

“You won’t care about her once I’ve made my wish,” Hawkmoth said calmly. He began to reach down, hand outstretched. Ladybug tried to flinch back, but an akuma cruelly gripped her hair and held her still. Her pulse quickened as his fingers neared her earrings –

“Cataclysm!”

What?

The floor crumbled beneath her. Ladybug yelped in surprise as the akumas suddenly vanished, and then she was falling into darkness. She caught a glimpse of red and flung a hand out to seize her yoyo; she looked around frantically for Adrien, spotted him, and threw her yoyo out. It coiled around his waist. She reeled him in, so fast that their bodies knocked together, and prayed that this would work. Then she wrapped her arms around him and flipped them, tensing in preparation for the impact. It still drove the breath out of her lungs when her back hit and then Adrien’s weight came down on top of her.

“My Lady!” Adrien cried frantically, his weight abruptly disappearing as he scrambled off of her. Ladybug coughed, her whole body feeling like one massive bruise. Her shoulder in particular was throbbing with pain.

“I’m – I’m o-okay,” she got out, wanting to reassure him. She took another gulp of air and added, “Adrien, really, I’m okay.”

“He hurt you.” Adrien’s face was drawn and pale. His fingers hovered over her, like he wanted to touch her but wasn’t sure if he should. That was stupid. Ladybug reached for his hand and took it, holding it tightly.

“How?” she rasped.

Adrien blinked, then smiled. “Plagg. Didn’t you know our kwamis can use our attacks too? He brags to me all the time.”

“No,” Ladybug said. “Apparently Tikki neglected to mention that.” She tried to sit up and winced with pain. Adrien immediately shuffled closer so that he could help her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and gently helping her to support her. She leaned her weight against him gratefully.

“That’s because Tikki is boring,” Plagg said, flying over to them. He was holding the ring in his little paws, which he dropped back into Adrien’s hands with a chastising look. “Don’t lose it this time.”

“Never again,” Adrien promised, hastily sliding it back on.

“Are you okay?” Ladybug finally thought to ask him. “That was quite the fall, and you’re not transformed.”

“I’m fine,” Adrien said dismissively. 

Ladybug wasn’t sure she believed that, but now wasn’t the time to do anything about it. She looked around, but her eyes were no longer used to the dark and she was having trouble seeing more than a foot in front of her face. She exchanged a look with her partner and, by unspoken agreement, they helped each other to their feet. Her legs felt weak when she stood.

“Shellter!” Carapace yelled. Ladybug jumped in surprise and saw a flash of dull green light to their left.

“Mirage!” Rena Rouge chimed in a moment later. Orange light illuminated the space, and Ladybug saw Hawkmoth lunging toward an illusion of Chat Noir. She could also see the karate akuma; there was just one now, and it was laying on the far side of the room, either unconscious or paralyzed by Queen Bee’s venom. She was too far away to tell which.

“Stay back,” Ladybug hissed at Adrien, pressing him back further. They were in a corner of the room. As quietly as she could, she called out, “Lucky Charm!”

With a flash of pink light, a bottle fell into her hands. It was about the size of a ketchup bottle and filled with some kind of clear liquid. Ladybug stared at it blankly. The label said SLIPS. That was it. What the hell was she supposed to do with it? 

“I’ve heard of this,” Adrien hissed in her ear. “It’s short for Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces. It’s one of the most slippery substances in the world. Your Lucky Charm really can conjure up anything.” He sounded both excited and impressed.

“It’s slippery?” Ladybug said, her mind working. Her eyes darted around the room and the beginnings of a plan began to form in her mind. She smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

"I'll find you, Adrien! You'll thank me for this!"

Hawkmoth's yell echoed throughout the room as he lunged forward to attack another mirage, this one of Rena Rouge. Ladybug crept forward, trying to stay out of his direct vision just in case he realized she wasn't the illusion. Her heart was thudding in her ears but her hands were steady as she held her Lucky Charm out in front of her. All she had to do was get a little bit closer -

"You won't win!" Adrien shouted, somewhere to their left, and Hawkmoth spun towards the sound.

Now! Ladybug leaped forward and squeezed the bottle as hard as she could. The clear liquid squirted out of the bottle and onto the floor; it swept across the floor like a wave of ice, leaving behind a sheen that was visible even in the limited lighting. Then she ducked, falling to her knees just in time to miss Hawkmoth's sword passing over her head, missing her hair by mere inches. She felt the breeze of it.

The edge of Hawkmoth's right foot hit the slippery substance and he flailed, dropping his sword in his surprise. His left foot came down and he did a bizarre dance in an effort to stay on his feet. Ladybug launched herself at him and gave him a solid push; he slid further into the puddle and his feet came out from under him, sending him to the ground.

"Venom!" Queen Bee cried, appearing above him as though by magic. She slammed her stinger down into Hawkmoth's right pectoral. Hawkmoth convulsed once and then froze.

There was a sudden silence, everyone staring at the downed villain like no one could quite believe what had happened. Then Queen Bee made a face and a disgusted noise, carefully sliding backwards and kicking her feet like that would get rid of the slipperiness on the bottom of her boots. 

"We did it," Rena Rouge said dazedly.

"We did it," Ladybug echoed, then bit her lip. It was over.

"We only have a couple of minutes," Adrien said. He'd hung back while Ladybug was getting closer to Hawkmoth, not wanting to transform and have the green light tell Hawkmoth where they were. His mouth was set into a grim line.

"Ladybug, you wanna do the honors?" Rena Rouge said, looking at Ladybug.

"I - Chat?" Ladybug said, turning towards Adrien.

"It's okay," he whispered. "Go ahead."

Rena Rouge took her phone out of her pocket and fiddled with it, then held it up with the screen facing towards her. "Hey Paris! Rena Rouge here with the biggest scoop of the century. After a hell of a time, Team Miraculous has finally beaten Hawkmoth. I'm here to provide live footage of Hawkmoth's unmasking, exclusive to the Ladyblog."

She carefully turned the phone around to face Hawkmoth, being careful to make sure that Adrien wasn't caught in the shot. Adrien took several steps back, his hard eyes set on Hawkmoth's body. Ladybug wanted to hug him, but she couldn't just yet.

"Ladybug, you ready?" Rena Rouge asked.

"Yes," Ladybug said, which was a lie, but she didn't have much choice. She carefully moved forward, cautious of the fact that, if her infamous klutziness combined with the slippery substance, all of Paris would see her faceplant, and knelt beside Hawkmoth's paralyzed body. She reached out and took hold of the Butterfly Miraculous, pulling it off his chest in one smooth movement.

Hawkmoth's transformation came undone in a flash of greyish purple light to reveal Gabriel Agreste.

"Mr. Agreste, you will wait here until the police arrive," Ladybug said. Miraculously, her voice came out steady. "Queen Bee's venom won't last long, so we're going to find something to tie you up."

Gabriel couldn't answer her, of course, but she could see the rage in his eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that he wouldn't hesitate to attack if given the opportunity. He wouldn't be able to do much damage considering that she was still transformed, but that wouldn't stop him from trying. And she really didn't want Adrien to have to see that.

"Here," Carapace said, approaching her. "I found these." He handed her what looked like several strips of cloth, and Ladybug glanced over at Adrien to see that he was no longer wearing his overshirt.

"Let me do the honors," Queen Bee said, grabbing the ties out of Ladybug's hands. She knelt and began tying them, probably a little too tightly, but Ladybug couldn't find it in herself to stop Queen Bee. It was the least of what Gabriel deserved, in her expert opinion.

Twin beeps filled the room and Rena Rouge and Carapace detransformed. Fortunately, Nino wasn't in the frame. Ladybug knew she didn't have much longer. She'd lost count of the beeps, but probably only had one or two spots left. There was something really important than she had to do first. She shuffled over to where she'd left her Lucky Charm, Alya follwoing her the whole way with the phone, and bent to pick it up.

She looked at Adrien. He managed a smile and nodded. Ladybug swallowed. Then she pulled her left arm back and threw her Lucky Charm as high into the air as she could.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she screamed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alya putting her phone away and was glad that, 

The Lucky Charm burst apart, sending streams of magic out through the doors. Red light surrounded Ladybug briefly. She was hoping that it would leave her fully healed, but her shoulder was still burning when the light died away and she closed her eyes regretfully. It seemed that Tikki’s and Plagg’s suspicions had been correct. The miraculous cure would fix what the akumas had done, but not what Hawkmoth was responsible for.

People would still know who they were.

Her transformation came undone then, and Tikki weakly flopped into Marinette’s hand. “I’m sorry, Marinette,” Tikki whispered.

“It’s okay, Tikki. You did the best you could,” Marinette said, tucking the Butterfly Miraculous into the pocket of her jeans. Now that she was untransformed, she was really feeling the pain. It felt like that kick to the shoulder had undone whatever healing Tikki had managed to do. A quick glance down told her that she was bleeding again. And it wasn’t just her shoulder: her whole body ached.

Adrien came over to her and took her free hand. His hand was shaking. He turned to Alya, Nino and Queen Bee and said, “You guys should get out of here. The police are gonna be here soon.”

“Pollen, buzz off,” Chloé said, and then folded her arms. “I’m not sure I want to leave.”

“Go,” Marinette said firmly. “Get out of here. Call the police to make sure they’re on their way. You can decide later about whether you want to reveal your identities. Now isn’t the time. It’s going to be bad enough as it is.” She squeezed Adrien’s hand, feeling a renewed jolt of fear. The miraculous cure should have fixed everything. People shouldn’t hate them anymore.

But what would Paris think of its superheroes being two sixteen-year-olds?

Chloé looked like she wanted to argue some more, but Nino grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room. Alya was slower to follow, casting worried looks back at Adrien and Marinette, and only left after mouthing the words ‘I’ll call you’ at Marinette. In a way, Marinette was glad to see them go. She couldn’t have handled the additional stress of figuring out how to deal with the unveiling of Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee.

Gabriel began making garbled comments, because Chloé had had the forethought to gag him when she was tying him up. Not wanting Adrien to have to watch that, Marinette quietly led her partner from the room. She knew that Gabriel wasn’t going anywhere soon, and they could wait for the police elsewhere. They followed the hallway until they came to a door, which opened up into the main hall of the Agreste mansion. Adrien looked around with a befuddled look.

“I never realized that door was there,” he said.

“It’s probably designed to blend in with the wall,” Marinette said. She was very tired suddenly. It had been a long two days, they hadn’t slept well last night, and she was in a lot of pain. Adrien, she thought, was probably faring no better. She reached into her purse and drew out cookies and cheese. Tikki and Plagg fell on the offering ravenously. In the distance, Marinette heard the sound of sirens. 

“My Lady,” Adrien whispered, but said nothing more.

Marinette swallowed hard. Her heart was racing. “It’ll be fine, _Chaton_. We’re together.”

“Right,” Adrien said. He bowed his head, pressing the back of her hand to his lips. She put her head on his shoulder for a moment, wishing she could give him better comfort. But they just didn’t have time.

“We’re ready!” Tikki said.

It would be easier, Marinette thought, to face the police as their superhero selves. So she nodded and said, “Tikki, spots on!”

“Plagg, claws out!”

Ladybug and Chat Noir met the police when they burst in. All of the officers stopped short at the sight of them. In spite of herself, Ladybug tensed up. She didn’t think she’d ever forget the sight of the Parisian police force charging towards her and Chat Noir with the full intentions of taking both of them down by whatever means necessary. She gripped Chat Noir’s hand tighter instinctively, and his free hand noticably twitched towards where his baton lay across his back. 

Officer Raincomprix lifted his hands. “We’re here to arrest Gabriel Agreste,” he said, not unkindly. “Could you point us to where he is?”

“That way,” Ladybug said, jerking her head towards the door. “He’s tied up right now.”

The officer smiled. “I would expect no less. Okay men, you know your assignments. Get on with it!” he barked out. Roughly half the officers streamed past Ladybug and Chat Noir into the door, while the others went up the staircase and fanned out. They were searching the house, she realized, probably with the intention of trying to find evidence against Gabriel. Or maybe just to see who else was there. She wondered where Nathalie was.

When the other officers were gone, and only Officer Raincomprix remained, he turned back to them. “We’ll need to speak with Monsieur Agreste’s son. We’ll also need to get a statement from, uh, you, but I understand if you’d prefer to wait. Would you be able to come to the station tomorrow? Alternatively, I could, er, come to you.”

“You can come to my parent’s bakery,” Ladybug said bluntly. She saw no point in beating around the bush. “That’s where we’ll be. Adrien is staying with me.” 

“Okay,” Officer Raincomprix said, very carefully not looking at Chat Noir. “Legally I’m supposed to bring him with me to the station, but –”

“He is staying,” Ladybug said, her voice like ice, “ _with me_.”

“Right. Right, yes, of course,” he said hastily. “The mansion is now a crime scene. If you need anything, please call me and I’ll have someone bring it over.”

“Thank you,” Ladybug said shortly, and she walked past Officer Raincomprix, once again towing her silent partner along behind her. 

They would need to go back to the hotel to pick up the remainder of their belongings. They’d need to check in with Alya, Nino and Chloé. They’d have to talk to Master Fu again and hand over the Butterfly Miraculous. Adrien would have to get some of his things, whatever he needed, from the mansion. There was so much to do that it made her head spin, and all she really _wanted_ to do was go home.

“Kitty?” she said, half-turning to look at Chat Noir. Beyond the gates, which were guarded by the police, they could both see journalists.

“Let’s just go,” Chat Noir said. “I don’t want to be here when they bring… bring him out.”

“Okay,” Ladybug whispered. She leaned into him, letting him use his baton to vault them both up and over the fence, past the cameras and gawking crowd, and up onto the rooftops.


	11. Chapter 11

Chat Noir landed outside the bakery with a light thump. He kept his arm around Ladybug. She stayed close to him, her eyes sweeping the street. It was mostly empty, surprisingly. She'd half-expected to find a ton of journalists here waiting for them. Maybe they were hiding and taking pictures from afar? The thought made her stomach flip uncomfortably. Without a word, she gripped Chat Noir's arm and stepped forward. She reached for the doorknob of the bakery and was startled when it gave easily beneath her hand, even though there was no one in the shop.

"I'm going to lock the door," Ladybug said. Her voice sounded unnaturally loud, the only sound in a room that was usually buzzing with people. She turned, reaching to flick the lock, and noticed belatedly that the sign was flipped to Closed. She frowned.

"Marinette? Marinette, is that you?"

Ladybug tensed, drawing closer to her kitty automatically. Chat Noir drew his baton, taking a half-step in front of her with his baton held up in front of the both of them. Sabine Cheng burst into the room and stopped short upon seeing them. They stared at each other for a long moment. Ladybug hardly dared to breathe. Logically, she knew that the spell on her parents had ended. They should have been back to normal. But it was a lot harder to convince her brain of that right now when the last memory she had was of them hurtling trash and insults in their direction.

"Marinette," Sabine whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "We - we saw the news footage and I... my god, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Ladybug said unsteadily. It was surreal to talk to her mother as Ladybug, knowing that her mother knew who she was. Who they were.

"You..." Sabine paused, swallowing, her eyes flicking between the two of them. "Your father and I have been waiting for you to come home. Will you come upstairs? He's waiting for you."

Chat Noir and Ladybug looked at each other. Then Ladybug said, "Maman, did you see who Hawkmoth is?"

"Yes," Sabine said. It was impossible to miss her rather pointed glance in Chat Noir's direction.

"Then you know that Chat has nowhere to go. So he'll stay here," Ladybug said firmly.

"Marinette -"

"He'll stay with me," Ladybug interrupted, taking Chat Noir's hand and holding to tightly. She could've said a lot at that moment: she could've said that Chat Noir was the only person who'd held her together over the past two days, or she could've said that she thought she might fall apart if Chat Noir left her sight right now, or she could've said that Chat Noir would shatter into a thousand pieces if he were left alone. But she didn't. She opted to stare her mother down instead.

Sabine's mouth shut would an audible click, and then she bowed her head. "We'll talk about it later, as a family. For now, would you..."

"Okay," Ladybug said. When she moved, her partner moved with her like they were one entity. They climbed the stairs together and emerged into the living room. Tom was pacing the room, but his head shot up as soon as they entered. 

"Marinette," he breathed, staring at her. 

"Hi Papa," Ladybug said, attempting a smile.

Tom started to move towards her, his arms wide open. Ladybug flinched without meaning to, feeling more than seeing the way that Chat Noir recoiled beside her. Her papa stopped as though he'd been slapped, a devestated look flashing across his face. She'd never pulled back from his hugs. A mingled rush of shame and guilt flooded through her, yet Ladybug couldn't make herself take a step towards him either, even though she wanted to. An akuma had never affected her like this before, but then again there had never been an akuma that tuned her family and friends against her quite like this either.

"We thought you'd be hungry. We have snacks," Sabine said from behind them. 

"That would be nice," Ladybug said quietly, meeting Chat Noir's gaze, asking without words if he would feel comfortable detransforming. He hesitated long enough to tell her that he would prefer not to, but then nodded. 

"Claws out," he said.

"Spots off," Ladybug said at the same time. Red and green light rolled through the room. Adrien's hand tightened on hers to the point of pain. 

"Please sit," Tom said to both of them, indicating the couch.

Adrien moved first, taking a seat on the couch and looking at the television with a hollow gaze. Marinette frowned, biting her lip when she saw that the footage Alya had taken was playing. Apparently the media had wasted no time in picking it up from where it was posted on the Ladyblog. She watched herself move forward and take hold of the Butterfly Miraculous, pulling it off of Gabriel's chest. Then she watched Carapace hand her the strips of cloth, and Queen Bee grab them out of her hands. The malicious smile on Queen Bee's face as she knelt to tie up Gabriel was only slightly concerning; Gabriel was probably lucky they hadn't left him alone with Chloé.

The footage ended there, or at least that was all the news station chose to show. The whole thing only took about two minutes. It seemed like it should've taken much longer than that, considering how much time had been spent leading up to it. The screen faded back to Nadja Chamack in the studio, lingering on her for only a minute or two before it went back to the footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir de-transforming in front of most of Paris. Marinette flinched again, seeing Hawkmoth stab the sword into her shoulder, and reached up to touch the spot. It ached with a fierce, bright pain.

"Are you hurt?" Sabine asked quickly. "I thought - doesn't Ladybug's Lucky Charm heal everything?"

"It heals damage done by akumas. That was Hawkmoth," Marinette explained awkwardly. She wasn't about to tell them that Hawkmoth had also kicked her in the shoulder with all of his strength, and then that she'd fallen at least one floor, maybe two, and landed with Adrien's weight on top of her. What went on in that room would remain between Hawkmoth and Team Miraculous.

"Can I see?" Sabine said, looking worried.

"It's fine, Maman. I've had worse." As soon as she said it, Marinette knew she shouldn't have. Her maman's face grew pinched, and her papa sat down hard on the chair. They both stared at her.

Tom was the first to speak. "Marinette, we're sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know how we missed this."

"I didn't want you to know," Marinette said. "You were never supposed to know. No one was." Her voice broke, and she lifted her free hand to cover her mouth. Adrien let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, taking a moment to get herself back under control.

“But he’s in prison now,” Tom said. “Isn’t he? That’s what the news has been saying. So… you don’t have to be Ladybug anymore?”

“Marinette, why don’t you and Adrien go up to your bedroom? I think Plagg and I can answer the questions that your parents have,” Tikki said. Both of her parents jumped, and Marinette realized that they hadn’t noticed the kwamis in the room until that point. Seeing the identical shocked expressions was amusing, at least. 

“Are you sure, Tikki?” she asked.

Tikki smiled at her. “Absolutely. I even promise to keep Plagg from saying anything too inappropriate.”

“Hey!” Plagg said, head poking up from Adrien’s opposite shoulder. Marinette lifted a shaking hand towards him. Plagg rubbed his cheek against her fingers.

“Okay,” Marinette said. She and Adrien stood up together; it was hard to tell who was holding who up at that point. Her parents, particularly her maman, looked like they wanted to argue, but neither one of them seemed to know what to say. Marinette took that as implicit impression and led Adrien down the hallway, up the stairs and through the trap door to her bedroom.

Nothing had been changed, she noticed immediately. There were still clothes and other things strewn about from when she’d frantically been grabbing what they needed for the hotel. She stooped down to pick up a tank top, holding the pink shirt loosely in her hands. Three days ago everything had been normal and now it felt like her world – their world, she amended silently, looking at her partner – had been turned upside down. She wasn’t sure what to do to start fixing things, either.

“I feel gross,” Adrien said finally, the words he’d spoken since they left the mansion. “Can we shower?”

Marinette didn’t miss the ‘we’ in that sentence and blushed faintly, but couldn’t find it in herself to deny him. It wasn’t like she wanted to be away from Adrien, either. “Sure. It will probably be a while before Tikki and Plagg are done with Maman and Papa.”

She rummaged around until she found another pair of pants and a shirt to replace what he wearing, then grabbed some clothing for herself. She led Adrien out of her room and down the steps, then took a sharp right. Her face felt hot as she opened the bathroom door and stepped inside, but at the same time she wasn’t silently dying the way she thought she would’ve three days ago. This was Adrien Agreste, but he was also her silly kitty. It was like someone had punched a hole in the blinders she was wearing, and she was seeing him clearly for the first time.

She turned on the shower, setting the water to as hot as she could stand it – she figured that Adrien felt as unclean as she did right now, covered in dirt and grime and a lof of other things she’d rather not think about. Keeping her back to him, she slowly pulled her shirt off and unhooked her bra. Her pants and panties followed, landing in a heap on the ground. Lastly, she untied her pigtails.

Keeping one hand over her chest, Marinette stepped into the shower. Adrien followed. She lowered her head, letting the stream of the shower soak her hair. When she was wet, she moved aside so that he could step into the spray. He was naked too, and she consciously kept her eyes on his upper half. Now wasn’t the time for anything else. This wasn’t about sex or fun, it was about getting clean after one of the worst days of their lives.

“How long do you think my father will go to prison for?” Adrien asked, voice barely audible over the sound of the water.

“I… I don’t know,” Marinette said, picking up her shampoo. She squirted some into her hands and shifted so that she could reach his hair. He started at her touch but quickly relaxed, eyes drifting shut as she rubbed her fingertips over his scalp. 

“It’s probably going to be a while,” Adrien said quietly, even as he was leaning into her touch. “I guess… at least now that everyone knows I’m Chat, I won’t have to worry about people thinking that I was working with him.”

“No one would think that!” Marinette exclaimed, horrified by the idea. “You would never.”

He half-smiled. “You’re probably the only one who would be that confident, My Lady. Frankly, I don’t know how you can stand to be around me right now. My father has been fighting against us for over two years. He _hurt_ you, and he liked it.”

“That was your father, not you,” Marinette said firmly. She’d probably have nightmares about the smile on Hawkmoth’s face right before he kicked her in the shoulder, but now wasn’t the time to tell Adrien that. Instead, she let her hands slide away from hair so that she could gently push him backwards under the spray. It was hard to tell whether it was water or tears rolling down his face, but she thought it was probably both.

She closed the space between them, hugging him tightly. “You’re my kitty. Nothing your father did, or could do, will change that.”

He was still for only a second before he melted, arms lifting to wrap around her and crushing her against him. “Thank you, Marinette,” he breathed, sounding choked up, and now she was crying too.


	12. Chapter 12

When they climbed out of the shower, Adrien bandaged up the wound on her shoulder. Then they dressed, Marinette forgoing a bra to make it easier on her wound. From the sounds of the voices downstairs the conversation was still going on, so she led Adrien back up to her room instead. They took a few minutes to tidy up, putting things away where they belonged, until all evidence of their frantic search had disappeared.

It was late, and she was tired after what would go down in history as the long day _ever_. Marinette crawled up into her bed and beckoned to Adrien with open arms. He was quick to scale the ladder after, falling into her arms. He hugged her as tightly as she was hugging him, his face pressed against her collarbone. She combed her fingers through his hair and stared at the sky through her window, watching the clouds moving. Eventually, long after Adrien’s shaky breathing had smoothed out, she fell asleep.

“Marinette? Adrien? Are you awake?”

There was sunlight now, hitting her face. Marinette blinked, feeling as though she’d only been asleep for a few minutes, and slowly turned her head. The trap door was open and Sabine was standing there, visible only from her waist up. There was a tray in her maman’s hand, which Sabine placed on the floor. The smell of fresh croissants and tea smelled divine, and made Marinette’s stomach growl.

“Maman?” she said, realizing that at some point through the night, she’d draped herself over Adrien. 

“Officer Raincomprix is here to see you,” Sabine said.

 _That_ woke Marinette up fast. She sat up, hearing but ignoring Adrien’s mumble of discontent, and said, “Can you tell him we’ll be down in a few minutes?”

“Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Once her maman was gone, Marinette turned back to the bed and realized that Tikki and Plagg had joined them at some point. Plagg was curled up beside Adrien’s head, while Tikki had made a place for herself on Adrien’s stomach. All three of them were still sound asleep. In spite of herself, Marinette smiled and crept towards the ladder. She managed to get down without waking anyone, and picked up the platter her maman had left. It held croissants, jam, chocolate chip cookies, Camembert cheese, and a pot of tea.

“ _Chaton_ , wake up. Maman brought us breakfast, and we have visitors,” Marinette said, making her way back up the ladder. 

“Mmm… My Lady?” Adrien pried his eyes open with visible effort, the hazy green staring in Marinette’s direction. She smiled sadly at him.

“Eat. We have to go talk to Officer Raincomprix.”

The smile swiftly fell off Adrien’s face. He was quiet as he sat up and joined her in eating the croissants and drinking the tea; Plagg swiftly claimed the cheese for himself, not that anyone else would’ve wanted it, and Tikki took the three cookies. Sleep and food was what they all needed the most, Marinette thought, licking her fingers of the last of the jam. 

“What are we going to tell him?” Adrien asked once the food was gone, clutching a half-empty mug in his hands.

“The truth?” Marinette said, knowing it sounded like a question. “Tikki, what did you tell Maman and Papa?”

“They were worried about you, Marinette. I told them about Plagg and I, where we came from and how we came to be with you and Adrien. A little bit about your powers, though really no more than they already knew if they watched television or followed the Ladyblog. I explained why you’d kept everything a secret.” Tikki drew herself up. “And I told them that Plagg and I would not be leaving.”

“How did they take it?” Marinette asked.

“Your papa was upset you’d kept it a secret, but I think he understood,” Tikki said. “It was for everyone’s safety, including yours. I think he found it hard to argue against that.”

“They weren’t happy Tikki and I are sticking around,” Plagg said with a faint smirk.

“You… you are?” Adrien said, very softly, and Marinette knew exactly how he felt. They both watched their kwamis with wide, worried eyes.

Plagg scoffed. “Of course we are! Being Chat Noir and Ladybug is a lifetime occupation. Tikki and I have only just begun to share the depths of our power with you; you think we’re gonna give up and leave right when we’re getting to the good part?!”

“Well… Hawkmoth is gone. The threat is dealt with,” Marinette said.

“He’s the only threat for now. There may end up being more,” Tikki said, flying into Marinette’s lap. “Marinette, don’t worry. The Guardian won’t take us away. We belong with you and Adrien.”

A wave of relief went through Marinette, so potent that she might have fallen had she been standing. She glanced at Adrien and saw her emotions reflected in his glassy eyes. The thought had crossed her mind a few times that, without Hawkmoth, they might have to give the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses back. That would’ve been hard enough for Marinette, but, in the wake of everything that had happened, she thought it might be enough to break Adrien permanently. Plagg meant too much to him.

“Okay,” she said, voice unsteady. “Then… I think for Officer Raincomprix, we should be honest but vague. He doesn’t need to know everything. We can tell him the truth, that we didn’t know who Hawkmoth was, and explain how we found out and came up with our plan. We’ll say that we called the others and then made the mutual decision to storm the Agreste mansion, since that was the most logical place for Hawkmoth to be.”

“He might ask you about Nathalie,” Plagg pointed out.

Marinette chewed her lower lip. “Adrien?”

“We should be honest,” Adrien said, wiping a hand across his eyes. “It’s for the police to question her and decide if she’s innocent. If she was helping him –” He cut himself off, and Marinette reached for his hand.

“He’ll probably also ask about the identities of Carapace, Queen Bee and Rena Rouge,” Tikki said.

“That’s neither here nor there. It has no bearing on anything,” Marinette said, and Tikki smiled.

“Alright. Plagg, claws out!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

As the twin flashes of red and green light died away, Ladybug and Chat Noir climbed down the ladder and opened the trap door. Ladybug descended first, with Chat Noir on her heels, their hands firmly clasped together. Officer Raincomprix, another officer, Sabine and Tom were sitting in the living room. All four of them rose when Ladybug and Chat Noir came in. 

“Good morning. As promised, I’ve come for your statements,” said Officer Raincomprix, smiling awkwardly.

“Can we give them together?” Ladybug asked. “We were together pretty much the whole time.”

“I’m afraid not.”

Ladybug tensed up, but nodded slowly. “Okay. Chat Noir can go in the kitchen. I’ll stay here.”

“That’s fine,” Officer Raincomprix said. Ladybug made herself let go of her partner. Chat Noir slunk through the kitchen door, not speaking until the other officer joined him and made to shut the door. Then Chat Noir let out a low, warning hiss.

“The door stays open,” he snapped.

The officer froze. “Uh – um – o-okay,” he stuttered.

She probably should have said something, but Ladybug didn’t want the door closed either. Just the thought of it made her panic a bit. Instead, she turned to Officer Raincomprix and said, “Since we’re both minors, can my papa stay with Chat?”

“If Chat Noir wants that,” Officer Raincomprix said.

“I do,” Chat Noir said.

Tom stood up and went into the kitchen. Ladybug watched as they all took seats around the table. Then she slowly sank into the chair her father had vacated, clasping her empty hands in her lap. She wished that her partner was next to her, or that Tikki was there. She would’ve felt better. But that would’ve meant de-transforming, and she wasn’t comfortable with that either.

“Okay. Let’s take it from Wednesday morning,” Officer Raincomprix said, turning to Ladybug. So did Sabine. Their focus made Ladybug’s stomach squirm with renewed anxiety. She tried not to look at the recording devicer that Officer Raincomprix was holding.

“It was a normal morning. I got up and went to school just like I usually do. That afternoon –”

“What time? Please be as specific as possible.”

“Oh. Right. Um, it was probably around 2pm, maybe?” Ladybug tried to remember. “Yeah, I think we were just starting Physics, so around 2pm. Alya got word on the Ladyblog that there was an akuma, so I left class.” She remembered now that she was thinking about it that Adrien had asked to leave at almost the same time. Why hadn’t she ever thought that was noteworthy? 

“Okay, please continue.”

“I transformed and went to face the akuma, Misfortune. It only took me and Chat a few minutes to work out what it could do.” Ladybug paused, unconsciously wrapping her arms around herself. “We found out when a couple of kids started throwing rocks at us.”

“Did they hit you?” Sabine asked, looking worried.

“They didn’t,” Ladybug said. They hadn’t been so lucky every time. “We were trying our best to fight the akuma when Hawkmoth showed up. We’d never faced him before.”

“And what did you do once you realized Hawkmoth was part of the fight?” Officer Raincomprix asked.

Ladybug gave him a short smile. “Panicked, mostly. We weren’t sure what to do. It was obvious we were out-matched, but neither of us dared to go to the Guar – I mean, to where the other miraculous are stored. We didn’t want to risk leading Hawkmoth there. So we were trying to deal with him ourselves. But between Hawkmoth and Misfortune and the people she’d turned against us, that was a lot harder than we thought it would be. It got to the point where we weren’t safe anywhere except up on the roofs, because people were actively searching for us.”

He nodded at that. “Okay. So what did you do next?”

“It all happened so fast. The police were shooting at us. Paris was hunting us.” Ladybug put a hand to her leg, where she had a fist-sized bruise from a bottle hitting her. “We thought we should deal with Misfortune first, but then… well. You saw the footage. You know what happened.”

Officer Raincomprix shifted, clearing his throat. “Yes, those few minutes are, er, well documented.”

“Well, after that, we ran. We knew we had to go somewhere safe, so –”

“Sorry, by we, you mean yourself and Chat Noir, correct?”

“Correct,” Ladybug said. “Chat and I were hurt and exhausted. We needed to regroup, but we couldn’t go home.” She avoided her maman’s eyes. “We came back to the bakery for a few minutes, just long enough to grab some food and clothing. Then we took the train, because it seemed like the fastest way to cover ground, and ended up a motel. I got us a room.”

“What motel?” he asked.

She had to stop and think for a moment before naming the motel, then added, “We got a room under Marchand. Our things are still there, actually.”

“I can send someone to go pick them up for you if you want,” he said.

Ladybug shook her head. “No, it’s okay. Chat and I will go later.”

“The clerk didn’t recognize that you were underage?” Sabine asked.

“We told them we were married,” Ladybug said. She rubbed her thumb over her finger. “I think he thought we were eloping.”

Sabine’s face did something strange, her lips pursing. “I see.”

“So you got the room,” Officer Raincomprix said. “What next?”

Ladybug told him the truth: she and Chat Noir had fallen asleep. When it came to telling him how Carapace, Queen Bee and Rena Rouge had become involved, she grew more evasive. Officer Raincomprix clearly wanted to press her for details about just how the other miraculous holders had joined them, but he seemed to realize that Ladybug wasn’t going to answer questions about that.

They moved on. It was one of the longest three hours of Ladybug’s life. He wanted every detail about their decision to go to the Agreste mansion. Somethings, Ladybug was surprised to realize she genuinely couldn’t remember. She could tell that Officer Raincomprix wasn’t entirely happy with her retelling, but everything had happened _so fast_. She found it difficult to remember exactly how many karate akuma there had been, or how long they’d fought Hawkmoth for.

When at last Officer Raincomprix and the other officer left, both of them warning that they would need to speak to Carapace, Queen Bee and Rena Rouge within the next day or two, Chat Noir came into the living room and sat beside her on the couch. She wordlessly sank into his embrace and cried.


	13. Chapter 13

“Won’t your parents be mad that you snuck out?”

“I didn’t sneak out,” Marinette said, which wasn’t exactly the truth. She had waited until both her parents were preoccupied in the bakery with the supper rush before she and Adrien left, but they’d walked out through the bakery. Sabine had watched them go. It wasn’t like her parents were going to go back upstairs and find the living room when they expected otherwise.

Adrien gave her a look. “My Lady.”

“It’ll be fine,” Marinette said. “We need to see Master Fu and get our stuff. I told Alya, Nino and Chloé to just go ahead and meet us at the hotel at 7pm.” She’d already told Alya that Officer Raincomprix wanted to speak to them, knowing Alya would pass the message along, and she fully suspected that Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee were descending on the police station even as they spoke.

“If you say so,” Adrien said, squeezing her hand tightly. He didn’t sound convinced, but then she couldn’t blame him for that. The coming weeks were not going to be easy.

She knocked on Master Fu’s door, then reached for the knob. It opened easily under her hand. Marinette stepped inside, Adrien on her heels, and heard the faint murmur of voices coming from the main room. Tikki popped out of her purse and beckoned to them, leading them past the main room where they usually met with Master Fu and into the back room where Mater Fu had healed Tikki that time.

“Come on in, Marinette. Master Fu won’t mind.” Tikki darted inside, and Plagg burst out of Adrien’s pocket to follow. Marinette shrugged – it wasn’t like the two of them could wait out front where customers could see them – and followed, dragging her partner along with her.

“I bet Master Fu heard us come in. He probably won’t be long,” Plagg said.

Marinette nodded and knelt at the small table, and Adrien knelt beside her. He was looking around with interest, having never been back here before. The room hadn’t changed much from when Marinette had last seen it, so she kept her attention on the their kwamis. Tikki and Plagg seemed to be perfectly at home here, which made sense. She wondered how much time they’d spent in this very room.

At last, the door opened again and Master Fu hastily entered. “Marinette, Adrien, forgive me. Some of my clients like to stick around and talk.”

“That’s okay,” said Adrien. “There was no rush.”

Master Fu gave a slight smile. “I suppose you could look at it that way, considering that I’ve been waiting to get the Butterfly Miraculous back for some time now. Please, tell me that you have it?” He looked between them. It was Adrien who reached into his pocket and pulled out the Miraculous, which he set gently into Master Fu’s out-stretched hands. The Miraculous glowed pale purple and then, for the first time, Marinette got her first glimpse of the butterfly kwami. 

“Nooroo!” Tikki cried, rushing over to grab Nooroo in a hug.

“Tikki. Plagg,” Nooroo said in a faint, squeaky voice. He was very cute, with big purple eyes, a purple swirl on his forehead, and delicate butterfly wings. 

“Good to see you again,” Plagg said, stretching out a paw and tapping it gently against Nooroo.

“Thank you,” Master Fu said, drawing Marinette’s attention back to him. He was looking at the kwamis as well, a sad smile on his face. “There were many days where I feared this moment would never come. It’s largely thanks to the hard work and sacrifice from the two of you.”

“You’re welcome,” Marinette said quietly.

Adrien cleared his throat. “Master Fu, I wanted to apologize. I had no idea my father was Hawkmoth, but –”

“Adrien, please. There is no need for that. You didn’t know, and even if you had known that wouldn’t make it your fault,” Master Fu said, holding up a hand. “I only wish that it had been anyone but your father.”

“I just wish I’d found out earlier,” Adrien said, his grip on Marinette’s hand so tight that it hurt. 

“So do I,” Master Fu said sadly. “I can’t even say that I regret choosing you as Chat Noir, or that I would make another choice had I known then what I know now. You two are the best Ladybug and Chat Noir that I’ve ever seen.” He stood, moving over to the gramophone, and pressed in the code to unlock. With great ceremony, he gently laid the Butterfly Miraculous to rest against the velvet. Nooroo vanished.

“Master, I almost forgot,” Marinette said suddenly, rummaging in her pocket. She fished out the Peacock Miraculous and held it out to him.

His eyes widened. “The Peacock?!”

“It was in my father’s safe,” said Adrien. “I don’t know why he never used it.”

“The Peacock Miraculous was broken a long time ago. Anyone who uses it does so at great personal risk to themselves. I had no idea it was in Hawkmoth’s possession,” Master Fu said. He was very careful as he took the Peacock Miraculous from Marinette. No kwami appeared, and Marinette felt a little disappointed. She would’ve liked to have seen what the peacock kwami looked like.

“Now that you have these two back, and you know where all of the Miraculous are, can Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee keep theirs?” Marinette asked.

Master Fu hesitated before shaking his head. “Not just yet. I know they’ve been of great help to you, and that you trust them implicitly. So perhaps, in time, I’ll feel comfortable letting them keep their Miraculous permanently. I would like to talk to all of you first.”

“About what?” Adrien asked. 

“I would like to start training you.”

Marinette and Adrien exchanged startled looks. “Training us? Why now, when Hawkmoth is gone?” Marinette asked.

He knelt with a grave look. “For as long as there have been Miraculous, there has been evil. It is very unlikely that Hawkmoth is the last foe you will face. I should have started your training a long time ago, but I was concerned about spending too much time with the two of you in case Hawkmoth managed to find me. It was safer that way. But now, I want to take the chance to train you, and possibly your friends, as much as possible before anything else happens.”

“What would this training encompass?” Adrien asked.

“I will explain everything to you later,” Master Fu promised. “You two both need time to heal before we can train. You may tell your friends to keep their Miraculous until you come to see me again, in two weeks time.”

It was a start, and Marinette knew that would make their friends happy. “Two weeks exactly,” she said with a nod. “We can do that. Thank you, Master Fu.”

“Please, Marinette. Don’t thank me. I’m the one who is in your debt. You have no idea how much you’ve done not just for me, but for the world, by stopping Hawkmoth.” Master Fu looked at the both of them gravely. “I only wish that I could be of some help to you in the coming days. I know that things are going to be very hard for you both.”

“It is going to be hard, but we’ll be okay,” Marinette said, reaching instinctively for Adrien’s hand. It was there, just like always. “But I did want to mention… everyone at my school knows that me, Adrien, Alya and Nino are friends, and they also know that Adrien and Chloé are close. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone puts three and three together and figures out who Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee are.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Adrien muttered, frowning and leaning into her.

Master Fu sighed. “It would be unfortunate, but that’s not something we can change. It wouldn’t do any good for you to keep your distance from your friends now. That would be just as obvious to anyone paying attention.”

“What if they told people they were mad at their friends for falling under Hawkmoth’s power?” Plagg said. 

“We would never do that,” Adrien said. “And people know that. They’d never believe it.”

“And I don’t like the idea of making people think we’re mad when we’re not,” Marinette added. It wasn’t fair. She might be skittish and uncertain around pretty much everyone aside from Adrien and Master Fu right now, but that wasn’t anyone’s fault but Hawkmoth’s.

“Besides, I’m afraid that would only be a short-term solution,” said Master Fu. “As soon as you began hanging out with your friends again, you run the risk of someone figuring it out. I’m going to guess you don’t want to spend the rest of your lives not talking to them in public.” He looked at them with a faint smile.

“Uh, no,” Adrien said. “That sounds pretty horrible, actually.”

“In the end the miraculous magic can only do so much, and you’ll need the support of your friends in the coming days,” Master Fu went on. “Both as civilians, and as Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

It sounded like he knew more than he was telling. Marinette shivered, suddenly chilled. She couldn’t help wondering who or what their next foe would be. Hawkmoth had been bad enough. It had taken them literally years to beat him, and it was hard to imagine what could be worse. Yet, as much as she wanted to press for details, she knew from experience that Master Fu wouldn’t tell them anything before he was completely ready.

“We’ll talk to them and let them know that it’s a possibility,” Marinette said. 

“That would be wise. As you both know, it’s never pleasant to be surprised by something like that.” Master Fu spread his hands. “I would urge you both to be cautious in the next few weeks.”

“We will,” Marinette said.

“We’ll keep them safe, Master,” Tikki said, flying up to land on Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette relaxed a little, tilting her head to nuzzle Tikki. Her kwami’s presence was so comforting.

Master Fu smiled. “I can always count on you,” he said. “I’ll see you in two weeks. If you need me before then, it’s probably best that you contact me over the phone. Don’t come back to the shop until some of the excitement over your identities dies down.”

That made sense. Marinette hadn’t considered it, but they’d probably risked putting Master Fu in danger just by coming here today. Someone could’ve followed them. It was reasonable that, after everything they’d been through, she and Adrien might be looking for relaxation methods, but it still wasn’t a good idea to have anyone tie them to Master Fu too closely. Especially not after they’d just gotten the Butterfly and Peacock miraculous back.

“Then we’ll see you in two weeks,” she said, getting up. Adrien got up too and reached down to pick up Plagg, tucking his kwami into his pocket.

They walked back out to the front of the shop, where a waiting customer looked at them curiously but without any clear recognition. Adrien put a hand to Marinette’s back and hastily guided her out of the shop before that changed. Outside, by mutual, unspoken agreement, they started walking towards the train station. Adrien paid for their fare and they found seats in the back corner.

“I’m worried,” she said in a low voice.

Adrien wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I know. But it’ll be okay. We can handle anything together, My Lady.”

Marinette smiled at that in spite of herself and leaned her head on his shoulder. She thought about the coming weeks, Gabriel’s trial and going back to school and all the attention they’d be facing. It would be really hard, but they’d have each other and their team and their other friends and Marinette’s parents and Master Fu and their kwamis. That was more than she could’ve hoped for three days ago, when they were hiding in a motel room.

“I think you’re right, _Chaton_ ,” she said, pressing a kiss to his free hand just to watch the way he blushed faintly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, this fic is finished and I have no plans of writing anymore in this verse at the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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